Nigeria’s Public Debt Rises to N97.34 Trillion in Q4 2023 - NBS Report

In Q4 2023, it was gathered that Nigeria's public debt stock rose from N87.38 trillion (US$113.42 billion) in Q3 2023 to N97.34 trillion (108.23 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced this on Tuesday in its Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q4 2023, released in Abuja.

According to the report, Nigeria's stock of public debt, which comprised both domestic and foreign debt, rose by 10.73% on a quarterly basis.

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It was also stated that the external debt stood at N38.22 trillion (42.50 billion dollars) in Q4 2023, while domestic debt was N59.12 trillion (65.73 billion dollars).

"However, the share of external debt to total public debt stood at 39.26% in Q4 2023, while domestic debt was recorded at 60.74%."

According to a breakdown by state, the Bureau discovered that Delta had N373.41 billion in domestic debt in Q4 2023, while Lagos State had the highest debt, at N1.05 trillion.

According to the report, Jigawa had the lowest domestic debt, at N42.76 billion, followed by Kebbi at N60.69 billion. 

Additionally, it was stated that Kaduna State had 587.07 million dollars in external debt, while Lagos State, with 1.24 billion dollars, had the highest external debt.

"Borno recorded the lowest external debt with 20.49 million dollars, followed by Yobe with 21.49 million dollars," the NBS stated.

Back Story

Last year, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that in Q2 2023, Nigeria's public debt stock stood at N87.38 trillion (US$113.42 billion).

The Bureau stated that Nigeria's public debt stock, including domestic and external debt, increased to N87.38 trillion (US$113.42 billion) in Q2 2023 from N49.85 trillion (US$ 108.30 billion) in Q1 2023. This information was contained in the Nigerian domestic and foreign debt Q2 2023 report, released on Friday.

This shows a quarter-over-quarter growth rate of 75.27%, according to NBS.

According to the NBS, total domestic debt was N54.13 trillion (US$70.26 billion) in Q2 2023, while total external debt was N33.25 trillion (US$43.16 billion). 

In Q2 2023, the percentage of external debt (measured in naira value) to the total public debt was reported to be 38.05%, while the proportion of domestic debt (measured in naira value) to the total public debt was 61.95 %.

According to a state profile analysis, Lagos State had the largest domestic debt in Q2 2023 at N996.44 billion, followed by Delta at N465.40 billion.

"Jigawa State recorded the lowest domestic debt, at N43.13 billion, followed by Kebbi, at N60.94 billion," the NBS said.

It also stated that Kaduna had US$569.38 million in external debt, followed by Lagos State's US$1.26 billion.

According to the report, Taraba had US$21.92 million in external debt, while Borno state had the least amount at US$18.75 million.