Nigeria’s Debt to Countries Rises by Over $133m in One Year, China Remains Top Lender

• Nigeria's public debt reached a historic high at the end of 2024, with foreign debt accounting for 48.59% of the total
• Foreign debt is made up of multilateral loans, bilateral loans, and commercial papers issued by countries and institutions
• The breakdown of bilateral debt, which refers to debt owed to countries, shows that Nigeria's largest foreign creditor is China

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Nigeria’s debt stock to countries under bilateral agreement hit $6.09 billion at the end of December 2024, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The new debt stock is a 2.23% or $133.02 million increase when compared to $5.96 billion reported at the end of 2023.

There are six countries captured in the DMO data, which include China, France, Japan, India and Germany.

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Breakdown of Nigeria's debt to countries

Analysis of the DMO data showed that China remained Nigeria’s largest bilateral creditor through the Export-Import Bank of China, although its exposure dropped from $5.17 billion to $5.06 billion, a reduction of $102.5 million.

However, the addition of a $254.71 million loan from the China Development Bank means that Nigeria borrowed from the Asian country again in 2024.

Other changes recorded in DMO data include a slight increase in debt to France, rising from $580.13 million to $592.60 million.

Reductions in debt owed to Japan (down by $5 million), India (down by $6.5 million), and Germany (down by $20 million).

Here is a breakdown of Nigeria's debt to countries

• China (Exim Bank): $5.06 billion
• China Development Bank: $254.71 million
• France: $592.60 million
• Germany: $105.78 million
• Japan: $53.31 million
• India: $19.42 million

FG's domestic debt rises

On the domestic front, Lagos remains the most indebted state in Nigeria.

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The state’s debt reduced from $1.24 billion in 2023 to $1.17 billion in 2024, a $0.07 billion or 5.99% reduction.

Punch reports that Lagos accounts for about 24.37% of the total subnational external debt, leading as the most indebted state in Nigeria.

Kaduna follows with an external debt increase from $0.59 billion in 2023 to $0.63 billion, a rise of $0.04 billion or 6.48%.

Edo state emerged as Nigeria’s third most indebted state, with an increase from $0.31 billion in 2023 to $0.38 billion in 2024, an uptick of $0.07 billion or 21.85%.

External debt servicing grows

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s external debt service for last year increased to $4.66 trillion relative to $3.50 billion in 2023.

The amount represents a yearly increase of about 33% of $1.16 billion.

DMO data shows that most of the external debt service for last year was paid to commercial creditors with $1.47 billion.

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They include Eurobonds at $1.15 billion and multilateral creditors at $2.62 billion.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng