International Monetary Fund IMF, has removed Nigeria from its list of debtor-countries.
Established in 1944, IMF supports countries’ economic growth by providing financial aid and guidance on policies to enhance stability, productivity and job opportunities.
Countries seek loans from the IMF to address economic crises, stabilise their currencies, implement structural reforms and alleviate balance of payment difficulties.
Nigeria has joined Switzerland, Singapore, China and New Zealand on the list of the countries not indebted to IMF.
The country cleared the $1.6 billion debt it owed the IMF.
In a report, titled: “Total IMF Credit Outstanding – Movement from May 01, 2025 to May 06, 2025,” obtained on the multilateral institution’s website on Wednesday, Nigeria was not listed among the debtors, which had 91 developing and least developed countries owing the fund a total of $117,797,656,224 as at May 6.
Total IMF credit outstanding refers to the total amount of unpaid and outstanding principal due to the fund from its member countries. This includes both outstanding loans under current arrangements and those that have expired.
StatiSense, a data company, also confirmed on its X handle that Nigeria was no longer listed on the list of countries indebted to IMF, revealing that as at July 28, 2023, Nigeria owed the fund $1.61 billion.
StatiSense said the debt was reduced to $1.37 billion as at January 5, 2024; $933.03 million as at July 10, 2024; $472.06 million as at January 8, before it was finally settled this month.
According to Tolu Ogunlesi, a media aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari, “Nigeria got $3.4 billion in “emergency financial assistance” from the IMF, under the “Rapid Financing Instrument”:
According to Minister @ZShamsuna:
– Interest Rate: 1%
– Repayment moratorium of 3.25 years
– Repayment period of 5 years
“This $3.4 billion (equivalent to 2.454.5 billion SDR; amounting to 100 percent of our SDR quota) Covid-19 assistance from the IMF to @NigeriaGov, under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), has now been fully repaid, in line with the terms of the agreement.
“A repayment period of five years, meaning 2020 to 2025, and a moratorium of 3.25 years, meaning that we had a grace period until Q3 2023 before we had to start repaying.
“So, repayment schedule: 2023-2025
“Tinubu has kept to the terms, and as of May, the loan has been fully repaid.
“This is what the repayment looks like, from the @IMFNews website:
“Outstanding as at June 30, 2023: 2,454,500,000
“December 31, 2023: 1,840,875,000
“June 30, 2024: 1,227,250,000
“March 31, 2025: 306,810,000
“May 07, 2025: 0
The top 10 countries most indebted to the IMF include:
· Argentina
· Egypt
· Ukraine
· Pakistan
· Ecuador
· Colombia
· Angola
· Kenya
· Ghana
· Ivory Coast
African indebted countries are as follows:
· Tanzania
· Cameroon
· Chad
· Comoros
· Equatorial Guinea
· Guinea
· Ethiopia
· Botswana
· Democratic Republic of the Congo
