Nigeria Faces $6.4bn Eurobond Repayment Pressure Through 2030
Nigeria is set to confront about $6.4 billion in sovereign Eurobond repayments between 2024 and 2030, placing the country among the sub-Saharan African nations facing the highest external bond maturity pressures, according to the World Bank.
The World Bank disclosed this in its October 2026 Africa Economic Update, titled Building AI Readiness, which highlighted growing debt-servicing and refinancing challenges across the region.
Nigeria’s projected $6.4 billion obligation places it joint third with Ghana, behind South Africa, which has approximately $11.8 billion in Eurobond principal falling due during the period. Angola follows with $3.9 billion, while Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia face $3.2 billion, $2.8 billion and $2.2 billion respectively.
Across 13 sub-Saharan African countries, the World Bank estimates that roughly $43.6 billion in sovereign Eurobond principal will mature between 2024 and 2030. Nigeria accounts for approximately 14.7 per cent of that total.
Refinancing Costs Raise Concern
The challenge for Nigeria extends beyond repaying the bonds. The cost of refinancing existing obligations has increased significantly since global interest rates began rising in 2022.
Nigeria’s Eurobond issuances in 2024 carried coupons of 9.6 per cent and 10.4 per cent, around three percentage points higher than comparable bonds issued in 2021.
The World Bank warned that while refinancing can ease immediate repayment pressures, issuing new debt at higher rates could increase debt-service costs for years and leave governments with less fiscal room for other priorities.
The concern is also heightened by the shorter maturity periods of newer Eurobonds. While African sovereign bonds previously commonly carried maturities of 10 to 12 years, many bonds issued during the 2024–2026 reopening have maturities of only five to six years.
Nigeria Remains a Major Eurobond Issuer
The World Bank also ranked Nigeria as sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest sovereign Eurobond issuer between 2015 and August 2026.
During the period, Nigeria raised approximately $20 billion through 18 Eurobond transactions, behind South Africa, which raised $23.7 billion through 15 transactions.
The World Bank said the region’s growing reliance on refinancing could create a cycle in which governments repeatedly roll over maturing obligations while accumulating higher debt-service costs.
For Nigeria, managing the $6.4 billion maturity exposure will therefore depend not only on meeting repayment obligations but also on securing affordable refinancing without placing additional strain on government finances.
The bank also noted that external debt-service payments across sub-Saharan Africa have remained elevated, potentially diverting public revenues away from infrastructure, human capital development and social protection.
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