Nigeria has won 4th position of the top 10 most indebted countries on the borrowers list of the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank has revealed.
A newly released World Bank Fiscal Year 2022 audited financial statements for IDA as of June 30, 2022, states that Nigeria has a $13 billion IDA debt stock due to the country’s spiraling debt profile.
Nigeria was ranked fifth in the World Bank Fiscal Year 2021 audited financial statements, known as the IDA financial statement, with $11.7 billion IDA debt stock as of June 30, 2021.
The latest IDA financial statement indicates that Nigeria accrued about $1.3 billion IDA debt within the last fiscal year to take over the fourth top debtor position from Vietnam.
This debt is different from the outstanding loan of $486 million from World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
According to the report, the top five countries on the list slightly reduced their IDA debt stock, except Nigeria.
It says that India, which still tops the list, reduced its IDA debt stock from $22 billion in the previous fiscal year to $19.7 billion followed by Bangladesh from $18.1 billion to $18 billion.
Pakistan, which cut its debt from $16.4 billion to $15.8 billion, is third followed by Nigeria in fourth position.
Viettnam, which cut its IDA debt stock from $14.1 billion to $12.9 billion, follows suit in fifth position.
The World Bank also warns that Nigeria’s skyrocketing debt risks becoming unsustainable with devastating economic consequences in the event of macro-fiscal shocks.
