Nigeria spent $2.86bn on external debt service between January and August 2025, the Central Bank has disclosed.
The amount represents 69 per cent of all foreign payments, underscoring rising repayment pressures.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that the country spent $2.86bn servicing external debt between January and August 2025. The figure represents 69.1 per cent of total foreign payments amounting to $4.14bn during the same period.
In comparison, Nigeria paid $3.06bn on debt in the first eight months of 2024, which was 70.7 per cent of the $4.33bn total foreign payments. This shows a slight drop of $198m in debt service year-on-year, but the proportion of funds devoted to repayments remains high, with about seven out of every ten dollars leaving the country used for debt obligations.
The monthly breakdown highlights wide fluctuations. In March 2025, Nigeria spent $632.36m, more than double the $276.17m paid in March 2024. April also rose to $557.79m from $215.20m in April 2024. By contrast, May 2025 saw a sharp decline to $230.92m compared to $854.37m in May 2024. Debt service dropped further to $143.39m in June 2025 before rebounding to $302.3m in August.
Despite the reduction in total payments compared to last year, the dominance of debt service in foreign obligations underscores the country’s vulnerability, as critical funds continue to be directed toward repayments rather than investments or imports.
Fitch Ratings recently projected that Nigeria’s external debt service will rise from $4.7bn in 2024 to $5.2bn in 2025, which includes $4.5bn in amortisation and a $1.1bn Eurobond repayment due in November. The agency also highlighted concerns about weak government revenues, warning that interest payments will consume a large share of income, with the Federal Government’s interest-to-revenue ratio nearing 50 per cent.
Nigeria’s overall debt is expected to stay at about 51 per cent of GDP in 2025 and 2026, while government revenue remains structurally low at an average of 13.3 per cent of GDP, according to Fitch.
