Nigeria owes China $5.7bn in bilateral loans —World Bank
Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria owed China $5.67bn in bilateral external debt as of the end of 2025, accounting for about 85 per cent of its total $6.68bn obligations to foreign governments, according to the World Bank. Read More: https://punchng.com/nigeria-owes-china-5-7bn-in-bilateral-loans-world-bank/
Nigeria owes China $5.7 billion in bilateral loans, according to the World Bank's International Debt Report 2026. This makes China Nigeria's largest bilateral creditor, surpassing France, to whom Nigeria owes $774 million. The World Bank's report shows that Nigeria's total external debt stock rose by 6.6% to $145.02 billion in 2025 from $136.05 billion in 2024.
Bilateral loans are borrowings provided by one government to another, while multilateral loans are typically obtained from institutions such as the World Bank and other international development lenders. In 2025, Nigeria's bilateral debt of $6.68 billion formed part of its $62.4 billion public and publicly guaranteed external debt.
The report also indicates that multilateral creditors held $31.37 billion of Nigeria's total external debt, while private creditors held $24.35 billion.
Written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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