Nigeria’s external debt hits N66.14 trillion in Q3 2024

Nigeria’s external debt hits N66.14 trillion in Q3 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has discovered that Nigeria’s outside debt inventory climbed to N66.14 trillion ($43.03 billion) in Q3 2024, accounting for 23.14% of the country’s GDP.

This marks a 0.30% boom from the $42. ninety billion recorded in Q2 2024 and a 3.40% year-on-year (YoY) upward push from $41. fifty nine billion in Q3 2023.

The constant boom highlights Nigeria’s developing reliance on overseas loans to bridge monetary deficits and finance improvement projects.

Breakdown of Nigeria’s outside debt inventory
A breakdown of Nigeria’s overseas borrowing suggests numerous sources, including:

Multilateral Loans – $21. seventy seven billion (50.60%), sourced from the World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank.
Commercial Loans – $15.12 billion (35.14%), in large part from Eurobonds.
Bilateral Loans – $5. eighty one billion (13.50%), acquired from overseas governments.
Syndicated Loans – $ 1/3 billion (0.76%), secured via the African Finance Corporation.
Debt servicing: Nigeria paid $1.34 billion in Q3 2024
Nigeria serviced $1.34 billion in outside debt duties via way of means of the give up of September 2024, protecting each important payments and interest.

Principal payments accounted for $0. seventy two billion (53.73%).
Interest bills totaled $0. sixty two billion (46.27%), with:
Commercial Borrowings (Eurobonds) taking the biggest share – $0. forty four billion (70.96%).
Multilateral Institutions accounting for $0.12 billion (19.35%).
Bilateral Loans protecting the last balance.
Implications and financial outlook
The growing debt inventory displays Nigeria’s persisted dependence on outside borrowing amid financial challenges. Analysts warn that excessive debt servicing expenses should stress authorities finances, making it more difficult to spend money on essential sectors like infrastructure, health, and education.

While the CBN expects overseas loans to play a essential position in bridging finances deficits, specialists warning that Nigeria ought to prioritize sales era and debt sustainability to keep away from long- time period monetary distress.