Nigeria’s public debt has experienced a significant surge, climbing from N49.85 trillion (equivalent to 108.30 billion dollars) in the first quarter of 2023 to a staggering N87.38 trillion (equivalent to 113.42 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2023, according to the Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q2 2023 released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja.
This remarkable increase represents a growth rate of 75.27 per cent in Nigeria’s public debt stock in Q2 2023.
The report further reveals that Nigeria’s public debt consists of both external and domestic debt, with external debt accounting for N33.25 trillion (approximately 43.16 billion dollars) in Q2 2023, while domestic debt stands at N54.13 trillion (around 70.26 billion dollars).
When considering the share of external debt in relation to the total public debt, it accounted for 38.05 per cent in Q2 2023, while domestic debt made up the remaining 61.95 per cent.
Breaking down the debt figures by states, Lagos State held the highest domestic debt, amounting to N996.44 billion in Q2 2023, followed by Delta State at N465.40 billion. Conversely, Jigawa had the lowest domestic debt at N43.13 billion, trailed by Kebbi with N60.94 billion.
Moreover, in terms of external debt by states, Lagos State topped the list with 1.26 billion dollars, followed by Kaduna State with 569.38 million dollars. On the other hand, Borno recorded the lowest external debt, amounting to 18.75 million dollars, with Taraba State following closely at 21.92 million dollars, according to the NBS report.