Nigeria’s public debt breached the government’s sustainability threshold in 2024 after the federal government borrowed 61 percent more than budgeted to plug a wider-than-expected fiscal deficit caused by weak revenue performance.
The Budget Office of the Federation’s Fourth Quarter and Consolidated Budget Implementation Report for 2024 showed total public debt rose to N144.67 trillion, pushing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 61.22 percent at the end of December.
The ratio exceeded both Nigeria’s self-imposed ceiling of 40 percent and the 56 percent benchmark often applied to comparable economies.
The deterioration came as the federal government raised N12.62 trillion in fresh borrowing during the year, overshooting its approved borrowing programme of N7.83 trillion by N4.79 trillion, or 61.2 percent.
The larger borrowing requirement followed a widening fiscal deficit, which reached N13.51 trillion, 47.3 percent above the budgeted N9.18 trillion, after revenues fell well short of target while spending remained largely in line with
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