As of June 30, 2025, Nigeria still owes $18.2 billion, making it the third-largest debtor to the World Bank’s International Development Association. This is an increase of $1.7 billion, or around 10.3 percent, in just one year from $16.5 billion in June 2024.
According to the most recent data from the IDA’s financial statements, Nigeria moved up from its prior standing as the fourth-largest borrower in 2023 to third place in 2024, where it remained until 2025.
The World Bank Group’s concessional lending arm, the IDA, provides grants and loans to the world’s poorest nations at low or no interest rates. Although debt owed to the IDA usually has substantial grace periods and long maturities, the increasing balances show how much Nigeria depends on concessional funding and how big its finance needs are.
As previously reported , Nigeria got at least $2.2 billion in fresh loans from the IDA during the fiscal year spanning July 2023 to June 2024. This indicates that, over the two years between June 2023 and June 2025, Nigeria received a total of $3.9 billion in IDA loans under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Any outstanding loans from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is distinct from the IDA, are not included in this borrowing.
Bangladesh’s debt stock grew from $20.5 billion in June 2024 to $22.6 billion in June 2025, making it the world’s largest IDA borrower. With the biggest single share of the IDA’s loan portfolio, the South Asian nation continues to rule the exposure table.
The second-largest borrower is Pakistan, whose debt increased from $17.9 billion to $19.3 billion over that time. Despite a decrease in its exposure, India, which formerly rated higher than Nigeria, is still a major IDA borrower.
Due in major part to repayments exceeding fresh disbursements, its outstanding debt dropped significantly from $15.9 billion in June 2024 to $14.2 billion in June 2025, a decrease of $1.7 billion.
Ethiopia completes the top five with a debt stock that increased from $12.2 billion to $14.0 billion over the course of a year. Changes in the IDA’s lending profile are reflected in the other nations in the top ten list for 2025.
Tanzania’s debt increased from $11.7 billion to $13.7 billion, surpassing that of Kenya, which also had a notable rise from $12.0 billion to $13.0 billion. While Ghana’s debt increased from $6.7 billion to $7.2 billion, Vietnam’s exposure decreased from $12.0 billion to $11.6 billion, which caused it to fall in the rankings.
With $6.2 billion in 2025, Côte d’Ivoire overtook Uganda, whose debt was $4.8 billion in 2024, to break into the top ten. In 2025, the IDA’s top ten borrowers made up 61% of its overall exposure, a modest decrease from 63% in 2024.
The significance of the Single Borrower Limit, which restricts lending to any one nation to 25% of the IDA’s equity, is demonstrated by this concentration. The SBL is not currently a binding limitation because it was set at $51.0 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, up from $47.5 billion in FY25. This amount is significantly higher than the existing exposure levels of the largest borrowers.
Nigeria’s continuing finance need for development investment, particularly in infrastructure, energy access, and poverty reduction programs, is reflected in its continued position near the top of the IDA debtor table.
Even while IDA loans have better terms than market borrowing, the consistent growth of this debt raises concerns about the sustainability of Nigeria’s state debt load.
According to information taken from the World Bank’s official website, From previous report that the Bank had authorised $8.40 billion in new loans to Nigeria in the previous two years. 15 projects in the areas of energy, education, healthcare, rural infrastructure, and governance were approved between June 2023 and August 2025.
The sum includes $6.50 billion from the International Development Association and $1.95 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As of March 31, 2025, Nigeria’s overall debt to the World Bank had increased to $18.23 billion, according to figures from the Debt Management Office.
In just three months, this represents a $420 million gain from December 2024, when Nigeria’s entire World Bank exposure was $17.81 billion. According to the DMO data, borrowings from the World Bank’s concessional finance arm, the International Development Association, increased from $16.56 billion in December 2024 to $16.99 billion in March 2025.
Meanwhile, loans from the World Bank’s non-concessional lending window, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, stayed at $1.24 billion. The World Bank Group currently owns $18.23 billion, or around 39.7%, of Nigeria’s entire external debt stock, which as of March 2025 was $45.98 billion.
This indicates a slight increase in the World Bank’s debt portfolio share, which was 38.9% in December 2024 and 36.4% at the end of 2023. According to additional study, the World Bank currently accounts for 81.2% of Nigeria’s total multilateral debt, which as of Q1 2025 was $22.43 billion.
This indicates the institution’s continued pivotal role in Nigeria’s funding structure and is an increase over the 79.8% share reported at the end of 2024.
Dr Muda Yusuf, an economist and the CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, previously stated that the growing World Bank commitments to Nigeria ought to be analysed in light of the nation’s annual budgets and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, which already account for both foreign and domestic borrowing.
He pointed out that deficit financing, which enables governments to make important expenditures without waiting to raise all the necessary funds up front, is a typical component of budgets around the world and is not always bad.
He emphasised, nonetheless, that borrowing must always be supported by good economic logic and distinct development aims. Yusuf underlined that the main concern is debt sustainability, which is mostly dependent on the nation’s ability to generate enough cash to meet its commitments.
He cautioned that Nigeria runs the risk of incurring a vicious cycle of borrowing to service current loans, which would prolong fiscal vulnerability, if it does not have a robust cash flow to satisfy payback timelines.
Projects financed by loans must directly boost the economy’s ability to repay, he said. He stated that domestic debt is typically easier to manage and that Nigeria should exercise caution while taking out foreign loans because of the exchange rate concerns they provide.
He cautioned that excessive foreign borrowing may strain the nation’s reserves and devalue the currency even further. He emphasised that Nigeria must take a methodical approach to debt sustainability in order to prevent long-term financial difficulties.
