With $13bn debt, Nigeria ranks fourth on IDA debtors’ list

Nigeria has moved one spot up in the latest top 10 International Development Association (IDA) borrowers’ list.

IDA, part of the World Bank, helps the world’s poorest countries.

According to the organisation’s recently released financial statements, Nigeria is the fourth most indebted country, with a $13 billion debt as of June 30, 2022.

Last year, Nigeria ranked fifth on the list with $11.7 billion in the debt stock, but the country accumulated an additional $1.3 billion in debt within a year.

The development means that Nigeria’s debt has surpassed that of Vietnam, which previously occupied the fourth position on the borrowers’ list.

The IDA debt is different from Nigeria’s outstanding debt of $486 million to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), another organisation under the World Bank Group.

The top ten countries on the IDA borrowers’ list are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda.

Checks by TheCable showed that the top five countries on the list reduced their debts within a year, except for Nigeria.

India reduced its debt from $22 billion in 2021 to $19.7 billion in 2022, Bangladesh reduced its debt from $18.1 billion to $18 billion, Pakistan followed suit by reducing its debt from $16.4 billion to $15.8 billion and Vietnam’s debt reduced from $14.1 billion to $12.9 billion.

Recently, the World Bank said Nigeria’s increasing petrol subsidy could pose debt sustainability concerns for the country.

“Risk remains high on increasing fuel subsidies, which could weigh heavily on public finance and pose debt sustainability concerns,” the Bretton-Woods institution said.

“Nevertheless, public debt as a percentage of GDP is currently moderate.”

Expressing worry about the country’s rising debt profile, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) called on the federal government to rethink sources of debt and spending of borrowed funds.