Nigeria's public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) was 6.28% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 5.98 percentage points from 0.31% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 6.28% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 1.92% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 0.31% | 2014 |
| Highest | 45.14% | 1995 |
| Lowest | 0.25% | 2012 |
| Average since 2015 | 3.12% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 0.78% | 1977 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Nigeria's public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) rose 0.6 percentage points on 2023 (from 5.69% to 6.28%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 9.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 26.82 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 37.01 percentage points in 1999. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.67 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 92% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Nigeria had the 53rd highest value of the 101 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 6.28% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 8.88% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 7.76% | 2024 |
Closest to Nigeria in the 2024 ranking
- Lao PDR — 49th of 101: 6.93%
- Belarus — 50th of 101: 6.84%
- South Africa — 51st of 101: 6.45%
- North Macedonia — 53rd of 101: 5.97%
- Kazakhstan — 54th of 101: 5.82%
- Rwanda — 55th of 101: 5.68%
What this measures
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service to exports of goods, services, and income. Public and publicly guaranteed debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term obligations of public debtors and long-term private obligations guaranteed by a public entity. Exports of goods, services and primary income is the sum of goods (merchandise) exports, exports of (nonfactor) services and income (factor) receipts.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 48 values
| Year | Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 6.28 |
| 2023 | 5.69 |
| 2022 | 4.12 |
| 2021 | 5.01 |
| 2020 | 3.76 |
| 2019 | 1.92 |
| 2018 | 2.11 |
| 2017 | 0.6573 |
| 2016 | 0.8938 |
| 2015 | 0.7947 |
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) in nearby economies
- Angola — 26.22% (2024)
- Benin — 15.65% (2023)
- Botswana — 4.32% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 4.19% (2024)
- Burundi — 5.54% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 10.66% (2024)
- Cameroon — 15.84% (2024)
- Comoros
More economic policy & debt data for Nigeria
- Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$46.02 billion (2025)
- Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$43.01 billion (2025)
- GDP (current US$) — US$290.79 billion (2025)
- GDP (current LCU) — 441.54 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$562.59 billion (2025)
- GDP (constant LCU) — 226.52 trillion (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$1,224 (2025)
- GDP per capita (current LCU) — 1.86 million (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$2,369 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 953,654 (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Nigeria's public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)?
- 6.28% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1977?
- It is up 5.5 percentage points from 0.78% in 1977. The highest value was 45.14% in 1995 and the lowest 0.25% in 2012.
- How does Nigeria rank?
- 53rd highest of 101 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) unusual for Nigeria?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DPPG.XP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/debt-statistics Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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