Nigeria spent about $5.21bn servicing external debt obligations in 2025, accounting for more than 72 per cent of the country’s total international payments during the year, data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown.
Figures published on the CBN website indicated that external debt service rose from $4.66bn in 2024 to $5.21bn in 2025, representing an increase of $551.86m or about 11.9 per cent year-on-year. The increase came even as Nigeria’s overall international payments recorded a marginal decline during the period.
According to the data, total international payments dropped from $7.44bn in 2024 to $7.22bn in 2025, reflecting a reduction of $217.68m or about 2.9 per cent. Despite the fall in total outflows, the proportion of international payments used for debt servicing increased significantly.
The CBN data showed that 72.11 per cent of Nigeria’s international payments in 2025 were devoted to external debt service, compared with 62.58 per cent recorded in 2024.
The figures suggest that nearly three out of every four dollars Nigeria paid externally during the year were used to meet foreign debt obligations, showing the growing burden of debt repayments on the country’s external financial commitments.
