As of June 30, 2024, Nigeria has emerged as the third-largest debtor to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA). This pivotal development places Nigeria behind only India and Indonesia in terms of debt owed to the IDA.
According to data from the external debt stock report of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria owes the World Bank a total of $15.59 billion as of March 31, 2024. Additionally, Nigeria's outstanding debt to the IDA stands at $16.5 billion, making it the largest debtor in Africa and the third-largest globally.
The country's financial obligations to the World Bank have seen a notable increase, reflecting its growing reliance on international financial assistance.
Despite this, Nigeria's ranking in the ease of doing business has improved, moving from 146th place in 2018 to 131st in 2019 among 190 economies, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings.
Nigeria's total external debt stood at ₦33.25 trillion (US$43.16 billion) in Q2 2023, while its domestic debt was ₦54.13 trillion (US$70.26 billion). The combined domestic and external debts amounted to ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024, marking a major rise from ₦97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in December 2023.
In comparison to other countries, India holds the top spot as the largest debtor to the World Bank, with an outstanding balance of $38.3 billion at the end of 2022.
Indonesia follows with $20.6 billion, and Bangladesh is also among the top three debtors. Nigeria's classification by the World Bank remains as a lower middle-income (LMI) country for the period of 2024-2025, having previously been classified as a low-income country in 1987.
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