Nigeria’s total public debt stock, consisting of domestic and external debt stocks of the federal, 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory, hit N46.25 trillion or $103.11 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this on Friday in its ‘Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q4 2022’, released in Abuja.

The report showed that Nigeria’s public debt stock grew by 4.96 per cent in Q4 of 2022.

It said external debt stood at N18.70 trillion ($41.69 billion) in Q4 2022, while domestic debt was N27.55 trillion ($61.41 billion).

The NBS, however, said the share of external debt to total public debt stood at 40.44 per cent in Q4 2022, while domestic debt was recorded at 59.56 per cent.

In addition, the report showed that the federal government’s share of domestic debt was 80.62 per cent in Q4 2022.

In a breakdown by states, the bureau said Lagos recorded the highest domestic debt of N807.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Delta followed it with N304.25 billion and Ogun with N270.45 billion.

The report showed Jigawa recorded the lowest debt at N43.95 billion, followed by Kebbi and Katsina at N61.31 billion and N62.37 billion.

Nigeria’s total public debt as of Dec. 31, 2021, was N39,556 trillion or $95.779 billion.

The comparable figure for December 31, 2020, was N32.915 trillion or $86.392 billion.

(NAN)