…China Remains Nigeria’s Top Bilateral Creditor with $4.91bn in Outstanding Loans
Nigeria’s total public debt stock stood at N159.28 trillion (110.97 billion dollars) in December 2025, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
A breakdown of the debt figures shows that total domestic debt is N84.85 trillion (59.11 billion dollars), while total external debt is N74.43 trillion (51.86 billion dollars).
This makes domestic borrowing the largest component, accounting for 53.27 per cent of the debt stock while external borrowing makes up 46.73 per cent of the total public debt.
The DMO emphasised that the country’s total debt comprised of external and domestic borrowing of the Federal Government, as well as those of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The breakdown shows that the Federal Government accounts for majority of the debt, N80.49 trillion of the domestic debt and N66.27 trillion of the external debt.
According to the April IMF data, Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 32.3 in 2026, decreasing from 35.5 per cent in 2025.
Though below the 60 per cent global threshold, experts say high debt-servicing costs relative to revenue remained a significant concern.
External debt is divided into three primary categories based on the nature of the lender:
Multilateral loans stand at 23.19 billion dollars, constituting 45 per cent of external debt.
These are international financial institutions providing concessional loans.
The largest single external creditor is the World Bank, with 18.3 billion dollars. Nigeria is currently the third-largest debtor to the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approximately 3.5 billion dollars in outstanding credit facilities.
There is also a 6.20 Billion dollars bilateral loans (loans from individual foreign governments). which constitutes 12 per cent of external debt.
The Exim Bank of China is the leading bilateral creditor, accounting for 4.91 billion dollars (over 80 per cent of bilateral debt).
Domestic debt consists of securities issued by the Federal Government and held by local banks, pension funds, and institutional investors.
FGN bonds is the dominant instrument, representing about 80 per cent of local debt. which now includes securitised Ways and Means advances from the Central Bank.
There are also Nigerian Treasury Bills, FGN Sukuk, and Promissory Notes.
