Foreign debt liabilities owed by Nigerian private sector companies jumped by 179.6 percent over a seven-year period, climbing from $19.49 billion in 2018 to $54.48 billion in 2025, according to data released by the World Bank.
​The figures were disclosed in the World Bank’s International Debt Report 2026, which was officially presented on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at the multilateral institution’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., with further analytical briefings provided on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in Lagos.
​The report highlights a sharp expansion in private nonguaranteed external debt, foreign loans secured directly by corporate entities without government backing, which outpaced government-backed debt growth of 155.5 percent over the same period.
As a result of this rapid build-up, corporate liabilities now account for 37.6 percent of Nigeria’s total $145.02 billion external debt stock as of 2025.
​The expansion in private sector borrowing has come at a steep price for local firms. Commercial offshore loans attracted an average interest rate of 9.6 percent in 2025, standing in sharp contrast to the 1.9 percent average rate applied to concessional loans extended by multilateral and official bilateral creditors.
Private lenders also imposed significantly tighter repayment windows, offering an average maturity of 12 years with an eight-year grace period, compared to the 25-year repayment timelines and five-year grace periods typical of official multilateral loans.
​This surge in corporate borrowing forms a major part of the country’s broader external financial obligations. Out of Nigeria’s overall $145.02 billion external debt portfolio, public and publicly guaranteed commitments comprise the largest share at $62.40 billion, or 43.0 percent.
Private nonguaranteed corporate debt represents $54.48 billion, accounting for 37.6 percent, while short-term trade credits and other external obligations make up the remaining $28.14 billion, or 19.4 percent.
​Addressing global capital flows during the official presentation in Washington, D.C., Haishan Fu, Chief Statistician of the World Bank Group and Director of the Development Data Group, pointed to the mounting cost pressures facing borrowing enterprises across developing economies.
​”Access to international finance has improved, but the price of that finance has not,” Fu stated.
​Market analysts in Lagos noted that while Nigerian corporations increasingly turned to foreign-denominated financing to bypass domestic credit shortages and fund major capital expansion, persistent local currency volatility combined with high international interest rates has amplified refinancing risks across corporate balance sheets and domestic commercial banking books.
