Nigeria has maintained its position as the third-largest borrower from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), with debt exposure reaching $18.5 billion as of March 31, 2026. This figure, according to the IDA's latest financial statements, marks a slight decline from $18.7 billion recorded in December 2025, representing a decrease of about $200 million within three months.
Despite the quarterly drop, Nigeria's debt to the World Bank continues to rise on an annual basis. The current exposure is approximately $1.2 billion higher than the $17.3 billion recorded in March 2025, reflecting a 6.9 percent increase over one year. This places Nigeria behind only Bangladesh and Pakistan among the top borrowers from the World Bank's concessional lending arm.
Top Borrowers Ranking
According to the report, Bangladesh remains the largest borrower with $22.7 billion in exposure, followed by Pakistan with $19.2 billion. Nigeria occupies the third spot with $18.5 billion. Among African nations, Ethiopia has $14.4 billion, Tanzania $14.3 billion, and Kenya $13.2 billion in IDA debt exposure.
The IDA also disclosed that its total outstanding loan portfolio stood at $230.8 billion as of March 2026, slightly lower than the $231.1 billion reported in December 2025. Nigeria alone accounts for approximately eight percent of the institution's total loan portfolio and roughly 13.3 percent of the combined exposure of the IDA's ten largest borrowers. The ten largest borrowing countries collectively make up about 60 percent of the World Bank's concessional lending exposure globally.
Rising Dependence on Multilateral Financing
Nigeria's increasing exposure highlights the country's growing reliance on multilateral financing to support infrastructure projects, social programs, economic reforms, and budget support amid ongoing fiscal pressures. The Federal Government is currently negotiating a fresh $1.25 billion facility with the World Bank to bolster electricity supply, digital expansion, and agricultural reforms across the country.
The proposed funding is expected to target areas including electricity supply improvement, digital infrastructure expansion, agriculture, trade reforms, tax administration, and access to finance. If approved, total World Bank loan approvals secured by Nigeria since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023 could rise to approximately $10.6 billion. This planned facility would rank among the biggest World Bank loans approved for Nigeria in recent years, following the $1.5 billion Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing approved in June 2024.
Concerns Over Growing Debt Burden
Financial experts have raised concerns over Nigeria's expanding debt burden. Nigeria's total public debt had earlier risen to about 159 trillion naira by 2025, according to figures from the Debt Management Office. Dr. Paul Alaje, a finance expert and senior partner at SPM Professionals, warned that the increasing debt stock would place heavier repayment obligations on future generations.
"So here is the point, as the volume increases, Nigeria has to pay more, mind you the debt they gave to us is not this year, but as of December 31, 2025. So by the time we look at the one that we have retired and the new loans that have been approved and some that have been collected this year, it is clear that by the time the DMO is reporting that in the first quarter 2026, we would have crossed $160 billion. So it's more of a burden on the economy. Whether we have the capacity to pay or not is a different kettle of fish," he added.
Analysts note that while concessional loans from the World Bank typically come with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods compared to commercial loans, Nigeria's rising debt profile may continue to increase pressure on government revenue and debt servicing obligations in the coming years.
