Nigeria owes $51.9bn in external debt, Eurobond investors top creditors

Nigeria’s external debt rose to $51.90 billion as of March 31, 2026, with Eurobond investors and the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) accounting for more than 70 per cent of the country’s total foreign debt.
An analysis of data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) by Nairametrics showed that the external debt increased slightly from $51.86 billion at the end of December 2025.
However, compared with $45.98 billion recorded in March 2025, the debt rose by $5.93 billion, representing a 12.9 per cent increase in one year.
The figures also showed that Nigeria’s external debt is largely owed to a small number of major lenders and international investors. The top 1...