Nigeria’s total external debt reached US$145.016 billion at the end of 2025, up from $135.988 billion a year earlier, according to World Bank tables released with its International Debt Report 2026 on 5 November. The outstanding stock rose 6.6%, an increase of about $9.028 billion.
The figures cover external liabilities across the economy. Long-term public and publicly guaranteed debt stood at $56.884 billion at end-2025, while non-guaranteed private long-term debt amounted to $54.476 billion. Short-term obligations totalled $28.139 billion, alongside $5.516 billion in IMF credit and Special Drawing Rights allocations.
In US$ billions
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All public and private external debt, including short-term liabilities and IMF credit/SDR allocations.
Source : World Bank, International Debt Statistics 2026, Nigeria, end-2024 and end-2025
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| Category | US$ billions |
|---|---|
| End-2024 | 135.99 |
| End-2025 | 145.02 |
Private lenders hold a substantial share
Of the $56.884 billion in long-term public and publicly guaranteed external debt, official creditors held $32.532 billion, including $25.849 billion owed to multilateral institutions. Private creditors accounted for $24.352 billion, comprising $19.370 billion held by bond investors and $4.982 billion owed to commercial banks and other lenders.
The bank and other-lender component more than doubled from $2.248 billion in 2024. Over the same period, external bonds held by investors increased from $18.046 billion to $19.370 billion, illustrating how public external financing is divided among bond markets, banks and development institutions.
In US$ billions
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Complete breakdown of the US$56.884bn in long-term public and publicly guaranteed external debt.
Source : World Bank, International Debt Statistics 2026, Nigeria, end-2025
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| Category | US$ billions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Official creditors | 32.53 | 57.19 |
| Private creditors | 24.35 | 42.81 |
Repayments increase
Principal repayments on long-term external debt rose from $4.100 billion in 2024 to $7.210 billion in 2025. Adding the $3.566 billion in interest paid last year brings the corresponding debt-service total to $10.776 billion, compared with $7.608 billion in 2024.
The World Bank puts Nigeria’s external debt service at 19.3% of exports in 2025, up from 17.6% the previous year. Meanwhile, the external debt stock-to-exports ratio declined from 221.4% to 211.9%, and external debt relative to gross national income eased from 55.1% to 51.5%.