Nigeria’s public debt soars from N49.85trn Q1 2023 to N87.38tri Q2 2023 –NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed on Friday in its Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q2 2023, released in Abuja, that Nigeria’s public debt stock increased from N49.85 trillion ($108.30 billion) in the first quarter of 2023 to N87.38 trillion ($113.42 billion ) in the second quarter of 2023.

The report said Nigeria’s public debt stock, which included external and domestic debt, grew by 75.27 per cent in Q2 of 2023.

It said external debt stood at N33.25 trillion ($43.16 billion) in Q2 2023, while domestic debt was N54.13 trillion ($70.26 billion).

“The share of external debt to total public debt stood at 38.05 per cent in Q2 2023, while domestic debt was recorded at 61.95 per cent,’’ NBS stated.

In a breakdown by states, the bureau said Lagos State recorded the highest domestic debt of N996.44 billion in Q2 2023, followed by Delta at N465.40 billion.

The report showed Jigawa recorded the lowest domestic debt at N43.13 billion, followed by Kebbi at N60.94 billion.

In addition, it stated that Lagos recorded the highest external debt, with $1.26 billion, followed by Kaduna State, with $569.38 million.

“Borno recorded the lowest external debt with 18.75 million dollars, followed by Taraba with 21.92 million dollars,” the NBS stated.