Nigeria spent $2.86 billion on servicing external debt in the first eight months of 2025. New figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have shown this. The amount accounted for 69.1% of the country’s total foreign payments of $4.14 billion during the period.
Although this reflects a slight decline compared to the same period in 2024—when $3.06 billion was used for debt service. At that time, this represented 70.7% of total foreign payments of $4.33 billion. The data highlight that debt obligations continue to dominate Nigeria’s external commitments.
Overall, the country reduced its debt servicing bill by about $198 million, or 6.49%, year-on-year. However, the burden remains significant, as nearly $7 out of every $10 that left Nigeria between January and August 2025 went toward debt repayments.
