Nigeria’s public debt stock rises to N44.06 trn in Q3 2022, NBS reports

By Cynthia Ezekwe

Amid the economic downturn in Nigeria, the country’s public debt stock grew by 2.84 per cent in Q3 2022, while the external and domestic debt stood at  N44.06 trillion  in Q3 2022 from N42.84 trillion in Q2 2022, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS, in its Nigerian Domestic & Foreign Debt Q3 2022 report, showed that Nigeria’s external debt stood at N17.14 trillion in Q3 2022, while domestic debt was N26.91 trillion under the period in review.

“Nigeria’s public debt stock which includes external and domestic debt stood at N44.06 trillion (US$101.91 billion) in Q3 2022 from N42.84 trillion (US$ 103.31 billion) in Q2 2022. This shows that public debt (in national currency) grew by 2.84% in q3 2022 .External debt stood at N17.14 trillion ($39.66 billion) in q3 2022, while domestic debt was N26.91 trillion ($62.25 billion),”the report disclosed.

The report added that the share of external debt to total public debt stood at 38.92 per cent  in Q3 2022, while domestic debt was recorded at 61.08 per cent. In addition, the federal government’s share of domestic debt was 80.07 per cent in Q3 2022.

On state profile analysis, Lagos state recorded the highest domestic debt in Q3 2022 with N877.03 billion, followed by Delta state with N272.61 billion and Ogun state with N241.78 billion.

On the contrary, the lowest debt was recorded in Jigawa with N44.40 billion, followed by Kebbi and Katsina with N60.13 billion and N62.37 billion, respectively.