A data review for the second quarter debt portfolio of the country released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that the debt owed by every Nigerian on the average stood at N619,501.
According to the data published by the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s public debt stood at N134.297 trillion as of the second quarter of 2024 (June, 2024).
With the National Bureau of Statistics putting the country’s population at 216.7 million persons, it would mean that debt per capita stands at N619,501 based on the latest debt figure released by the DMO.
Put into further context, each Nigerian owes nine times the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000, if debt per capita is put into context.
The debt data further shows that domestic debt stands at N71.2trillion, whole external debt stands at N63 trillion.
Of the amount owed, States owe N7.1 trillion externally while the federal government owes N55.8 trillion externally.
States owe N4.2 trillion domestically while federal government owes N66.9 trillion.
The new debt figure of the country put at N134 trillion is a N13 trillion increase from the N121 trillion recorded as of March 2024.
The development is amid clamour for less reliance on loans by the Nigerian government.