Nigeria’s Debt to IDA Rises by $600 Million, Hits $17.1 Billion
Nigeria’s indebtedness to the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group (WBG) grew by $600 million in three months, rising from $16.5 billion in June 2024 to $17.1 billion as of September 2024.
This emerged as President Bola Tinubu yesterday requested the National Assembly to approve the sum of $2.209 billion (N1.767 trillion), already provided for in the 2024 Appropriation Act. The N1.767 trillion loan was captured in the external borrowing plan for the implementation of the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget. Tinubu made the request in separate letters read on the floors of the Senate and House of Representatives during plenary.
The IDA provides concessional loans and grants to governments of the poorest countries, and complements the World Bank’s original lending arm—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
Based on its financial statement for the fiscal year leading up to September 30, 2024, Nigeria’s debt to the IDA increased by $600 million between June 2024 and September 2024 (a period of three months), from $16.5 billion to $17.1 billion.
This put Nigeria as the third largest debtor to the IDA.
Year-on-year, Nigeria’s exposure to the IDA posted a 14.4 per cent growth from $14.3 billion in June 2923 to June 2024.
Data from the external debt stock of the Debt Management Office (DMO) as of March 31, 2024 indicated that Nigeria was indebted to the World Bank to the tune of $15.59 billion.
At the current $17.1 billion stock, Nigeria is the third largest creditor to the IDA, trailing behind Bangladesh and Pakistan which owe $21 billion and $18.5 billion, respectively.
The new financial statement indicates that the ten top debtor nations account for 63 per cent of IDA’s total exposure.
India ranks fourth, with a debt at $15.9 billion, while Ethiopia stands at $13.1 billion.
Other leading borrowers among the top ten IDA debtors in the world are Kenya with a $12.4 billion debt burden, Tanzania ($12.2 billion), and Vietnam ($12.2 billion).
Ghana and Uganda are at the bottom of the ladder with Ghana and Uganda owing $7 billion and $5 billion, respectively.
According to the latest financials, in 2024, the World Bank Group has so far provided much-needed financing, conducted research and analysis, and partnered with governments, the private sector, and other institutions to address global development challenges.
The report stated that the World Bank Group delivered a record $42.6 billion in climate finance in fiscal year 2024, supporting efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, investing in cleaner energy, more resilient communities, and stronger economies.
This translates to a 10 percent increase in climate financing compared to the previous year 2023
According to WBG, it has committed to devote 45 percent of annual financing to climate action by 2025, deployed equally between mitigation and adaptation.
It provided $117.5 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, and guarantees to partner countries and private businesses.
The total includes multi-regional and global operations, the Bank stated, adding that regional total reflected the International Finance Corporation’s ( IFC’s) commitments that were recalculated to match the World Bank’s regional classifications by aggregating country-level commitments within each World Bank region.
Africa got $38 billion, $12.5 billion went to East Asia and Pacific, $24.7 billion to Europe and Central Asia, $19.4 billion to Latin America and the Caribbean, $6.5 billion to Middle East and North Africa, and $15.9 billion to South Asia while $0.4 billion was globally disbursed.
