Nigeria’s external debt is expected to surge to $50 billion, according to projections by the Debt Management Office (DMO), as the country prepares to release its latest public debt figures for the third quarter of 2024.

As of 31st March 2024, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion), with domestic debt accounting for ₦65.65 trillion ($46.29 billion), and external debt standing at ₦56.02 trillion ($42.12 billion).

In the months since, Nigeria has secured several external loans, including a $2.25 billion facility from the World Bank under the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation (RESET) Programme. This package was aimed at providing urgent financial support to stabilise Nigeria’s economy while addressing poverty and improving productivity.

The World Bank has also approved a further $1.57 billion loan for three projects focused on governance, healthcare, education, and infrastructure development, particularly in enhancing dam safety and irrigation systems to boost resilience against climate change. Additionally, $70 million of this package was granted as part of broader efforts to improve key sectors in Nigeria.

Other loans include a $500 million facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support the first phase of Nigeria’s Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme (EGET-SP), designed to transform the country’s electricity infrastructure and transition to cleaner energy sources.

Nigeria’s debt service costs continue to escalate, with figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria showing that between January and July 2024, the country spent $2.78 billion on debt servicing—up 53.63% from the same period in 2023. Fitch Ratings has predicted that Nigeria’s external debt servicing costs will rise to $5.2 billion by 2025.