Nigeria’s public debt rocks N121.67tr: NBS

Nigeria’s external and domestic debt reached N121.67 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This was mentioned in the “Nigerian Domestic & Foreign Debt Q1 2024” paper.

According to the Bureau, it increased by 24.99% from N97.34 trillion in the third quarter of 2023.

NBS said: “Nigeria’s public debt stock which includes external and domestic debt stood at N121.67 trillion (US$91.46 billion) in Q1 2024 from N97.34 trillion (US$ 108.23 billion) in Q4 2023, indicating a growth rate of 24.99% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.”

The report said the total external debt stood at N56.02 trillion (US$42.12 billion) in Q1 2024, while total domestic debt was N65.65 trillion (US$49.35 billion).

NBS noted that the share of external debt (in naira value) to total public debt was 46.05% in Q1 2024, while the share of domestic debt (in naira value) to total public debt was 53.95%.

Lagos State, said the bureau, recorded the highest domestic debt in Q1 2024 with N929.41 billion, followed by Delta with N334.90 billion.

It added that Jigawa state recorded the lowest domestic debt with N2.07 billion, followed by Ondo with N16.40 billion.