The World Bank Group’s latest financial statements have reflected that Nigeria’s exposure to the International Development Association (IDA} increased by 14.4% from $14.3 billion in the financial year 2023 to $16.5 billion in 2024, thereby ranking the country as the third largest debtor to the association.
The $2.2 billion surge in Nigeria’s debt profile to the IDA in the financial year 2024, which covers from July 2023 to June 2024, moved the country up from its previous ranking as the fourth-largest borrower in 2023.
According to the figures published by the Washington D.C-based institution’s financial statements in FY 2024, Bangladesh remained the largest IDA debtor, with its exposure rising from $19.3 billion in 2023 to $20.5 billion in 2024.
Pakistan followed and maintained its second position with a stable exposure of $17.9 billion over the same period.
India, which was previously the third-largest borrower in 2023 with $17.9 billion, recorded a decline in in its IDA exposure to $15.9 billion in 2024, which pushed Nigeria to the third position in the debt chart.
Other IDA borrowers comprised Ethiopia, whose exposure grew from $11.6 billion in 2023 to $12.2 billion in 2024, and Kenya and Vietnam, both with $12.0 billion in 2024.
The data in the FY 2024 also reflected that these countries, along with Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda, ranked as the top 10 IDA debtors, collectively accounting for 63% of the IDA’s total exposure as of the end of FY 2024.
The IDA, which was established in 1960, is the part of the World Bank Group that helps the low-income countries and its funding supports complement the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (IBRD’s), the World Bank’s original lending arm.
