Nigeria faces a $6.4bn sovereign Eurobond repayment obligation between 2024 and 2030, ranking joint third among the largest repayment exposures in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank has said.
The World Bank disclosed this in its October 2026 Africa Economic Update, titled Building AI Readiness, which examined growing debt-servicing and refinancing pressures across the continent.
The report said, “South Africa faces the largest repayment burden, with US$11.8 billion, with maturities in every year of the period. It is followed by Ghana ($6.4bn), Nigeria ($6.4bn), and Angola ($3.9bn).”
This puts Nigeria and Ghana jointly behind South Africa among the sub-Saharan African countries with the largest Eurobond principal repayments falling due during the seven-year period.
Overall, the World Bank estimated that sovereign Eurobond principal maturing across 13 sub-Saharan African countries between 2024 and 2030 totalled about $43.6bn, after accounting for bond buybacks and liability-management operations completed through August 2026.
This places Nigeria and Ghana jointly behind South Africa among the countries with the largest Eurobond principal repayments falling due during the seven-year period.
Overall, the World Bank estimated that sovereign Eurobond principal maturing across 13 sub-Saharan African countries between 2024 and 2030 stood at about $43.6bn, after accounting for bond buybacks and liability-management operations completed through August 2026.
Nigeria’s $6.4bn exposure accounts for about 14.7 per cent of the region’s total maturity burden. Combined, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria face $24.6bn in Eurobond maturities, representing roughly 56 per cent of the $43.6bn total.
Other countries with significant repayment obligations include Angola with $3.9bn, Kenya with $3.2bn, Côte d’Ivoire with $2.8bn and Zambia with $2.2bn.
The repayment burden comes amid significantly higher borrowing costs for Nigeria and other African sovereigns returning to international capital markets following the global monetary tightening cycle that began in 2022.
The World Bank said sovereign Eurobond issuance in sub-Saharan Africa totalled about $122bn across 158 transactions between 2015 and August 2026.
Six countries accounted for more than 80 per cent of the total issuance, with Nigeria ranking as the region’s second-largest issuer.
South Africa raised $23.7bn through 15 transactions during the period, followed by Nigeria with $20bn from 18 transactions. Angola issued $15.8bn, while Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Kenya raised $15bn, $12.6bn and $12.2bn, respectively.
However, Nigeria’s return to the international market came at a substantially higher cost. The report noted that the country’s 2024 Eurobond issuances carried coupons of 9.6 per cent and 10.4 per cent, about 300 basis points higher than comparable issuances in 2021.
Across the region, yields on bonds issued during the 2024 market reopening ranged from 7.1 per cent to 10.4 per cent, about 300 to 500 basis points higher than comparable levels before 2022.
The World Bank warned that elevated borrowing costs could further intensify fiscal pressures, even for countries able to successfully refinance their maturing debt obligations.
“Although refinancing operations help ease near-term rollover pressures, they also lock in higher debt service costs for years to come, increasing fiscal burdens and reducing policy space even as immediate refinancing risks subside,” the report said.
