Nigeria’s whole public debt has climbed to N152.40 trillion as of June 30, 2025, up from N149.39 trillion on the finish of March.
That is in line with the newest figures from the Debt Administration Workplace (DMO).
The determine represents a quarterly enhance of N3.01 trillion, equal to 2.01%, whereas in greenback phrases the debt inventory rose from $97.24 billion to $99.66 billion, reflecting a 2.49% enhance.
Exterior debt portfolio sees modest rise
Nigeria’s exterior debt stood at $46.98 billion (N71.85 trillion) in June, up from $45.98 billion (N70.63 trillion) in March. The DMO report reveals that multilateral lenders stay the biggest collectors, with a mixed publicity of $23.19 billion, accounting for 49.4% of exterior obligations. The World Bank, by way of the Worldwide Growth Affiliation, is the one largest creditor with $18.04 billion excellent.
Bilateral loans made up $6.20 billion, led by the Export-Import Bank of China at $4.91 billion, adopted by smaller exposures to France, Japan, India, and Germany. Business borrowings remained sizeable at $17.32 billion, nearly solely Eurobonds, which account for 36.9% of the exterior portfolio. An additional $268.9 million was owed beneath syndicated services and business bank loans.
The reliance on Eurobonds and different business devices exposes Nigeria to international market volatility, whereas the heavy focus in multilateral loans signifies continued dependence on concessional financing.
Home debt dominated by long-term bonds
On the home facet, whole obligations reached N80.55 trillion by June, a rise of N1.79 trillion from N78.76 trillion in March. Federal Authorities bonds dominated the portfolio with N60.65 trillion, representing 79.2% of whole home debt. This class included N36.52 trillion in naira-denominated bonds, N22.72 trillion in securitised Methods and Means advances, and N1.40 trillion in greenback bonds.
Treasury payments accounted for N12.76 trillion, or 16.7%, whereas Sukuk points stood at N1.29 trillion. Smaller devices included financial savings bonds price N91.53 billion, inexperienced bonds of N62.36 billion, and promissory notes totalling N1.73 trillion. The promissory notes embody each naira and international currency-denominated liabilities transformed on the June CBN change charges.
The rising inventory of securitised Methods and Means advances underlines the fiscal stress the federal government faces, even because it leans on bond markets to finance price range deficits.
Federal Authorities accounts for over 92%
Of the N152.40 trillion debt inventory, the Federal Authorities was chargeable for N141.08 trillion, which quantities to 92.6% of the whole. This was made up of N64.49 trillion in exterior obligations and N76.59 trillion in home debt.
For the primary time in 2025, the DMO offered a separate breakdown of exterior debt for states and the Federal Capital Territory. Their mixed obligations had been reported at $4.81 billion (N7.36 trillion), whereas their home money owed stood at N3.96 trillion. In whole, subnational governments owed N11.32 trillion, accounting for 7.4% of the nationwide debt inventory
What it’s best to know
The DMO defined that exterior debt was transformed to naira utilizing the Central Bank’s official change price of N1,529.21 to the greenback as of June 30, 2025. The weaker change price in contrast with earlier within the yr magnified the naira worth of international borrowings, including to the rise within the total inventory.
This impact highlights the vulnerability of Nigeria’s debt portfolio to forex depreciation. Even in intervals the place contemporary borrowing is proscribed, the conversion of greenback and different international forex money owed at weaker naira ranges inflates the whole.
Though Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio stays inside worldwide thresholds, the tempo of progress and the growing price of servicing loans proceed to lift questions on sustainability.
Nigeria’s debt trajectory underscores the necessity for stronger income mobilisation and financial consolidation. With out important progress in increasing the tax base and decreasing expenditure inefficiencies, debt service may proceed to crowd out investments in infrastructure and social spending.
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