Nigeria’s External Debt Rises to $145bn as Debt-Servicing Costs Increase

Nigeria’s external debt reached $145.015 billion in 2025, up 6.6% from the previous year and 74.3% from 2015, according to the World Bank’s International Debt Report 2026. Public and publicly guaranteed debt made up $62.4 billion, while private debt without government guarantees stood at $54.476 billion and short-term debt at $28.139 billion. Multilateral institutions held the largest share of public and publicly guaranteed debt, at $31.365 billion. China was Nigeria’s largest bilateral creditor, with $5.672 billion owed. The World Bank’s International Development Association accounted for $18.533 billion of multilateral debt. Some debt ratios improved, but servicing costs rose relative to exports and national income. External debt service reached 19% of exports and 5% of Gross National Income. The report also said low- and middle-income countries paid $1.4 trillion in debt service in 2025, while private creditors charged higher average interest rates than official creditors.

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