External debt owed by 32 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) rose by a combined $944.12 million in 2025, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) analysed by Nairametrics.
The DMO data also showed that the total external debt stock of states and the FCT increased from $4.80 billion as of December 31, 2024, to $5.68 billion as of December 31, 2025, representing a net increase of $884.66 million or 18.43% year-on-year.
The lower net increase was because four states recorded a combined decline of $59.46 million, partly offsetting the $944.12 million increase recorded by the 32 states and the FCT.
This means that without the debt reduction by Edo, Rivers, Anambra and Bayelsa, the subnational external debt stock would have risen by almost $1 billion in 2025.
The data showed that 33 out of 37 subnational entities, comprising 32 states and the FCT, recorded increases in their external debt stock. This represents 89.19% of the total number of states and the FCT, while the four states that reduced their debt accounted for 10.81%.
The DMO figures showed that the entire subnational external debt stock in 2025 was split between multilateral loans of $5.25 billion and bilateral loans of $430.96 million. There were no commercial, promissory notes, Eurobond, diaspora bond or syndicated loan obligations recorded against the states and the FCT in the period.
This means multilateral loans accounted for about 92.42% of states’ and FCT’s total external debt, while bilateral loans accounted for 7.58%.
In 2024, the DMO reported subnational external debt at $4.80 billion, comprising $4.50 billion in multilateral loans and $303.61 million in bilateral loans.
This shows that multilateral debt rose by $757.30 million, while bilateral debt increased by $127.35 million in 2025. The increase in multilateral obligations accounted for the larger share of the year-on-year rise.
Katsina recorded the largest increase in external debt in dollar terms, rising by $100.16 million, from $100.46 million in 2024 to $200.62 million in 2025. This represented a 99.70% year-on-year increase.
