Nigeria’s Public Debt Reaches ₦166.79tn; Per-Person Average Is ₦702,185

Nigeria’s public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion as at 30 June 2026, according to the Debt Management Office. Dividing that total by the World Bank population estimate of 237.53 million gives an average of about ₦702,185 per person. The figure is a way to show the scale of government obligations; it is not an individual bill or personal liability.

Domestic debt makes up 54.91%

The debt stock comprised ₦91.59 trillion in domestic obligations and ₦75.20 trillion in external debt. Domestic borrowing represented 54.91% of the total, while external obligations made up 45.09%. The Federal Government accounted for ₦87.00 trillion in domestic debt and ₦65.77 trillion in external debt. States and the Federal Capital Territory held ₦14.01 trillion combined.

The wage comparison is only a scale marker

At the ₦70,000 monthly minimum wage, ₦702,185 is roughly ten months of pay, or 83.6% of a full year’s ₦840,000 gross wage. The comparison does not mean workers owe the debt or that it could be repaid through individual wage contributions.

What the headline total leaves out

The currency mix matters because exchange-rate movements can change the naira value of external obligations. For its 30 June conversion, the DMO used an official rate of ₦1,379.1842 to the dollar. For businesses and investors assessing fiscal pressure, however, the total debt stock alone is not enough: annual interest costs, repayment dates and government revenue are needed to show how much room remains for new spending and borrowing.

The June figures set out the size and composition of Nigeria’s obligations. The next measure to watch is how servicing costs compare with revenue as the government meets repayments and funds public programmes.

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