The budget office of the federation says Nigeria’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio from the first quarter (Q1) to the third quarter (Q3) in 2023 was above the federal government threshold last year.
The debt-to-GDP ratio is a metric that compares a country’s public debt to its GDP and indicates a country’s ability to pay back its debts by comparing what the nation owes with what it produces.
In the budget implementation report for Q3 2023, the office said the total public debt stock of the country stood at N87.91 trillion ($114.35 billion) as of September 30, 2023.
According to the budget office, this signifies public debt stock almost doubled from the N44.06 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.
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“This indicates an increase Of 43,846 billion (99.5 percent) when compared to the N44,064 billion (US$101,913.43 million) recorded at the end of September, 2022,” the budget office said.
“The breakdown comprised of N55.93 trillion (US$72.76 billion) or 63.62 percent for domestic debt stock while the balance of N31.98 trillion (US$41.59 billion) or 36.38 percent was for external debt stock.
“This translates to a net present value of total public debt/GDP ratio of 44.10 percent as at the end of September, 2023.”
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The budget office said this is above the country’s threshold of 25 percent — but below the international threshold of 56 percent for comparator countries.
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