Nigeria’s public debt decreased in dollar terms between June 2023 and June 2024. However, when converted to naira, it jumped to ₦134.3 trillion, largely due to currency devaluation. This sharp increase in debt could lead to tighter budgets, potentially affecting public services and everyday costs for Nigerians.
Between 2000 and 2023, Africa received $182 billion in Chinese loans, primarily for energy and transportation development.
Angola, with 25%, was the largest recipient; Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya followed.
While 49 countries benefited, experts warn of increasing debt risks.
As of 2022, the top five African countries indebted to the World Bank — Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania — accounted for 46% of the continent's outstanding debt with the institution.
Forty-eight African countries collectively owed around $125 billion, representing 31% of the total global debt of $408 billion. These are the top ten countries from 1970 to 2022.
India has been the World Bank's largest debtor for over 50 years, with a debt of $38.3 billion as of 2022.
Five Asian nations — India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and China — owe a combined $111.2 billion, or 27% of the World Bank’s total debt.
Nigeria, Africa's largest World Bank debtor, ranks 10th, with nearly #14 billion in debt.
Nigeria's debt to the World Bank grew from $182 million in 1970 to nearly $15 billion by 2023 – an 8,100% increase.
Between 2005 and 2023, it rose by 705%, highlighting Nigeria's reliance on World Bank financing for development.
As of Q1 2024, Nigeria owed $15.59 billion, 37% of its external debt.
Argentina, Egypt, and Ukraine were the IMF’s top three debtors as of June 26, 2024, accounting for $51 billion (46%) of the total debt. Egypt, Angola, and Kenya occupy the top three spots in Africa on the IMF’s debtors’ list.
As of December 2023, Kenya's public debt stood at Ksh11.14 trillion (approximately $76.8 billion). By June 2024, its debt to the IMF had increased by 245% from $744 million in August 2020.
This increase has coincided with protests in Kenya, where citizens opposed a proposed finance bill aiming to raise additional taxes to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.
How much more debt did Nigerian states add to their existing domestic debt in 2023?
Nigerian states' domestic debt increased by 9.8% in 2023, with 20 states and the FCT contributing to this increase. Lagos State recorded the biggest jump in domestic debt with ₦241.5b added.
At the end of every year from 2017 to 2023, Nigeria added between $800m and $7.5b to its external debt. After repaying $3.5 billion of its external debt in 2023, the country's external debt only increased by $800m as of December, marking the lowest increase in the past 7 years.
States and the FCT accounted for ₦4.12 trillion — 19.98% of Nigeria's Total Domestic Debt and 12.45% of the Total Public Debt, with Lagos having the most outstanding debt of ₦507.4 billion — 12.3% of the Total Debt Stock by states and the FCT.
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