
Nigeria’s total debt rose to 12.60 trillion naira ($65.42 billion) as of December 2015, up from 11.2 trillion naira in 2014, the Debt Management Office said, as the country grapples with a slump in oil prices that has slashed government revenues.
The debt office said on its website that foreign bonds and loans stood at $10.7 billion at the end of December, equivalent to about 16 percent of total debt and up from $9.71 billion at the end of 2014.
Africa’s biggest economy is planning to borrow as much as $5 billion to help fund its budget deficit due to the plunge in oil, which has also sent the naira currency into a tailspin.
The African Development Bank (AFDB) on Tuesday said Nigeria has asked the bank for a loan of $1 billion to help fund the deficit.
Nigeria expects a deficit of 3 trillion naira ($15 billion) in 2016, up from an initial 2.2 trillion naira ($11 billion) estimate.
In 2014, Nigeria rebased its GDP, almost doubling the size of its output to more than $500 billion to become the largest economy in Africa. But a weaker naira caused by the fall in oil prices has lowered its growth. Output for 2014 finished at $453 billion, leaving total debt at around 14 percent of GDP.