As of March 31, 2025, Nigeria’s public debt, the fourth-largest economy in Africa, has increased to ₦149.39 trillion.
In comparison to the ₦121.67 trillion recorded during the same period the previous year, this indicates a record gain of ₦27.72 trillion, or 22.8%.
The country’s debt increased by ₦4.72 trillion, or 3.3%, from ₦144.67 trillion at the end of December 2024, according to the most recent Debt Management Office (DMO) data.
Nigeria’s governmental debt has been fuelled by borrowing from both domestic and foreign sources to cover budget deficits, which has been made worse by the effect of the naira’s decline on the value of external debt.
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According to reports, the Central Bank of Nigeria utilised a ₦1,330.26/$1 exchange rate in the first quarter of 2024. The sharp increase in naira terms indicates a significant drop in currency value, even though the official rate for Q1 2025 was not made public.
Foreign borrowings from bilateral partners, multilateral lenders, and commercial creditors, such as holders of World Bank and Eurobonds, have contributed to the nation’s growing debt by raising the cost of foreign loans in local currency.
Since a sizable amount of revenue is used to pay back the principal and interest on foreign loans, this has also made it more difficult for the nation to finance growth initiatives.
Additional statistics revealed that Nigeria’s domestic debt was rising, hitting a record ₦13.11 trillion, or 20% more than the ₦65.65 trillion in March 2024, to reach ₦78.76 trillion ($51.26 billion) as of March 2025. Domestic debt increased from ₦74.38 trillion in December 2024 to ₦4.38 trillion every quarter, or 5.9%.
The majority of Nigeria’s domestic debt, ₦74.89 trillion ($48.73 billion), is owed by the federal government, while the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) collectively owe ₦3.87 trillion ($2.52 billion). This represents a slight decrease from ₦4.07 trillion in Q1 2024 and suggests that subnational debt servicing or borrowing may be improving.
