Nigeria's total public debt reached N159.28 trillion (110.97 billion dollars) by December 2025, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). Domestic debt accounted for N84.85 trillion (59.11 billion dollars), making up 53.27 per cent of the total, while external debt stood at N74.43 trillion (51.86 billion dollars), representing 46.73 per cent. The Federal Government held the bulk of the debt, with N80.49 trillion in domestic obligations and N66.27 trillion in external liabilities. The combined debt of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory was N4.36 trillion domestically and N8.16 trillion externally. Multilateral loans made up 45 per cent of external debt, totalling 23.19 billion dollars, with the World Bank as the largest creditor at 18.3 billion dollars. Nigeria ranks as the third-largest borrower from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA). The African Development Bank (AfDB) has 3.5 billion dollars in outstanding credit facilities to Nigeria. Bilateral loans amounted to 6.20 billion dollars, 12 per cent of external debt, with the Exim Bank of China holding 4.91 billion dollars—over 80 per cent of bilateral borrowings. Domestic debt is primarily composed of FGN bonds, which represent about 80 per cent of local debt, including securitised Ways and Means advances from the Central Bank. Other instruments include Nigerian Treasury Bills, FGN Sukuk, and Promissory Notes. The International Monetary Fund projects Nigeria's debt-to-GDP ratio to decline to 32.3 per cent in 2026 from 35.5 per cent in 2025. Despite the drop and the ratio remaining below the 60 per cent benchmark, experts note that debt-servicing costs remain high relative to government revenue.
The Federal Government holds over 94 per cent of the country's domestic debt burden, raising questions about fiscal imbalance across levels of government. With FGN bonds making up 80 per cent of domestic debt, the federal administration is heavily reliant on capital markets for borrowing. The dominance of multilateral creditors like the World Bank and AfDB shows continued dependence on concessional financing. Heavy securitisation of Central Bank advances suggests monetisation risks are being deferred rather than resolved.
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