Nigeria’s total foreign debt has grown over the years to reach $43 billion or N68.8 trillionThis debt is an accumulation of multilateral loans, bilateral loans and commercial papers issued over the years The breakdown shows that Nigeria’s largest foreign creditor is the International Development Association which she owes $16.83 billion
Henzodaily.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
Nigeria owes over $42 billion to foreign institutions and countries as at September 30, 2024.
According to the data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), this sum represents unpaid debts accumulated from both present and past government administrations.
Nigeria has accumulated foreign debts through bilateral and multilateral loans, as well as commercial papers issued over the years and past administrations.
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Recall that the DMO clarified that President Bola Tinubu’s inherited debt was N87 trillion, not N21 trillion, as some media reports claimed.
The DMO also added that by September 30, 2024, Nigeria’s foreign debt was N68.8 trillion ($43 billion), while domestic debt was N73.4 trillion ($45.8 billion).
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Recall that the DMO also blamed the bulk of Nigeria’s debt profile on the CBN’s N22 trillion Ways and Means advances.
Breakdown of Nigeria’s foreign debts
According to DMO data, Nigeria’s largest foreign debt is $16.83 billion owed to the International Development Association (IDA) under the World Bank Group.
Also under the World Bank Group, Nigeria owes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development $485 million.
Nigeria also owes several subsidiaries under the African Development Bank Group. Nigerian government owes the African Development Bank the sum of $1.619 billion. Also under this group, Nigeria owes the Africa Growing Together Fund the sum of $33.3 million; African Development Fund the sum of $993.58 million.
Nigeria is indebted to the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa a small sum of $4.78 million, to the European Development Fund another small sum of $31.06 million, and to the Islamic Development Bank, another sum of $242.88 million.
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The International Fund For Agricultural Development is also one of Nigeria’s creditors to the tune of $274.84 million.
Add these to the $1.247 billion owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), resulting in multilateral loans making up 50.6% of Nigeria’s total foreign debts.
Nigeria’s Bilateral loans and debts
Bilateral loans and debts to other countries make for 13.5% of Nigeria’s foreign loans.
The Nigerian government has an outstanding debt of $4.973 billion owed to the Export Import (EXIM) Bank of China; $641 million owed to the Agence Francaise Development in France; $116.3 million owed to the Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbua in Germany; $58.52 million owed to the Japan International Cooperation Agency; and $19.42 million owed to the EXIM Bank of India.
Eurobonds account for another 35.14% with $15.118 billion owed by the Nigerian government. There is also an outstanding $270 million in syndicated loans and $59 million owed to the Deutsche Bank A.G.
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Nigeria continues to spend trillions of naira servicing these loans every year.
Nigeria’s foreign debts to rise more in 2025
In related news, Henzodaily.ng reported that Nigeria’s foreign debts are set to rise even more in 2025, with the recent issuance of $2.2 billion Eurobonds.
According to DMO Director General, Patience Oniha, the publicly available data now only includes the debt profile up to Q3 2024.
While Nigeria’s total debt profile till September 30, 2024, is about N143 trillion, experts predict that the sum will hit N150 trillion in 2025.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Henzodaily.ng.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng