Nigeria spent nearly $1bn servicing its foreign loans in the first two months of 2026, as external debt repayments rose amid increasing capital outflows from the economy.
The figure, obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s February 2026 Economic Report, showed that the country spent $440m on foreign loan repayments in January and $480m in February, bringing the total debt servicing bill for the two months to $920m.
The report showed that total capital outflows rose significantly in February, driven largely by higher capital transfers and increased loan repayments.
According to the CBN, “Capital outflows increased, mainly on account of higher capital transfers in the review period. Total capital outflow rose to $2.75bn, from $1.63bn in the preceding month.”
The apex bank attributed the increase primarily to a sharp rise in capital transfers, although debt repayments also contributed to the higher outflows.
It stated, “The development was driven mainly by a 91.53 per cent increase in capital transfers to $2.26bn, relative to the level in the preceding month. Outflow through loan repayments also rose to $0.48bn from $0.44bn in January 2026.” The report added that dividend repatriation declined during the review period.
