Abuja — Nigeria’s public debt stock rose to N152.39 trillion (approximately 99.65 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2025, up from N149.38 trillion (97.23 billion dollars) recorded in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported.
The NBS disclosed the figures in its Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q2 2025, released in Abuja on Monday. According to the report, the country’s total public debt which comprises both domestic and external obligations grew by 2.01 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
The breakdown shows external debt at N71.84 trillion (46.98 billion dollars), while domestic debt stood at N80.55 trillion (52.67 billion dollars). This indicates that external debt accounts for 47.14 per cent of total debt, with domestic debt representing 52.86 per cent.
In terms of state-level debt distribution, Lagos State recorded the highest domestic debt at N1.04 trillion, followed by Rivers State with N364.39 billion. The lowest domestic debt was in Jigawa State (N852.49 million), followed by Ondo State (N10.64 billion).
On the external debt front, Lagos State again led with 1.04 billion dollars, followed by Kaduna State with 658.70 million dollars, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded the lowest external debt at 19.26 million dollars.
The NBS report highlights the continued growth of Nigeria’s public debt amid rising borrowing to finance infrastructure and development projects, as well as ongoing fiscal pressures on the federal and state governments.
