Nigeria’s borrowing exposure to the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank, has risen to $18.5 billion amid worries over the federal government’s borrowing spree.
The IDA revealed this in its recent unaudited financial statements for the third quarter of 2025.
IDA, a development finance institution, offers concessional loans and grants to the world’s poorest developing countries.
In its report, the IDA indicated that Nigeria remained the third-biggest borrower in the world, behind Bangladesh’s $22.7 billion and Pakistan’s $19.3 billion exposures.
In Africa, the country also remained the largest borrower, followed by Ethiopia with $14.1 billion and Tanzania with $13.8 billion in exposures.
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Nigeria maintained the third-place ranking, which it attained in 2024 after overtaking India. In 2023, the country was the fourth-largest borrower.
Nigeria’s exposure increased by $1.4 billion to $18.5 billion in September 2025, from $17.1 billion in September 2024.
The borrowing reflects the country’s deep reliance on concessional financing, which is expected to be used to plug infrastructure gaps, support social spending, and other purposes, amid its volatile oil revenues.
The report also shows that Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana remain IDA’s largest African borrowers.
In its 2024 reports, the IDA had placed Bangladesh at $21 billion, Pakistan at $18.5 billion, Nigeria at $17.1 billion, and India at $15.9 billion.
Others included Ethiopia ($13.1 billion), Kenya ($12.4 billion), Tanzania ($12.2 billion), Vietnam ($12.2 billion), Ghana ($7 billion) and Uganda ($5 billion).
In the 2025 report, Uganda dropped out of the top ten and was replaced by Côte d’Ivoire.
According to IDA, the top 10 countries accounted for 60 per cent of its total exposure as of September 2025.
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The report read, “As of September 30, 2025, the ten countries with the highest exposures accounted for 60% of IDA’s total exposure.”
The institution reported $228.9 billion in loans outstanding and $224.2 billion in net loans outstanding at the end of the quarter, up from $223.2 billion at the end of June.
It stated that the increase was driven mainly by net disbursements.
A further review of the statement showed that total assets stood at $288.6 billion, while equity remained stable at $204.2 billion.
The report also showed that IDA is operating under its 21st replenishment cycle, known as IDA21, which will provide up to $100 billion in financing from July 2025 to June 2028.
The envelope includes up to $23.7 billion in member contributions alongside financing from capital markets, loan repayments and transfers within the World Bank Group.
IDA, a concessional lending arm of the World Bank Group, offers low-interest or interest-free loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries.
Debt owed to the institution typically comes with long maturities and generous grace periods, but the growing balances highlight both the scale of Nigeria’s financing needs and the degree of its reliance on concessional funding.
While IDA loans offer more favourable terms than market borrowing, the steady accumulation of such debt adds to Nigeria’s overall public debt burden, raising questions about debt sustainability.
The latest debt stock exposure by the Debt Management Office shows that Nigeria’s external debt stood at $46.98 billion as of June 30 this year.
Of this amount, the World Bank Group accounted for $19.39 billion—comprising $18.04 billion from the IDA and $1.35 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦152.4 trillion (approximately $99.68 billion) as of June.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
