The International Development Association has ranked Nigeria as the fourth most indebted nation in the world in its latest Borrower’s list.
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.
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.
The World Bank had recently expressed concerns about Nigeria’s petrol subsidy payment arguing that it poses ‘sustainability concerns’.
“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.”
