Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in Nigeria
Nigeria: Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) was 7.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Interest rate spread in Nigeria, 1970–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus deposit rate, %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for interest rate spread in Nigeria is 7.2%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 53.9% on the previous year and down 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest rate spread in Nigeria peaked at 11.1% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1985.
Nigeria ranks 40th of 141 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus deposit rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.0% | — |
| 1971 | 4.0% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 4.0% | -1.0% |
| 1973 | 4.0% | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 4.0% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 3.2% | -18.8% |
| 1976 | 3.8% | +17.9% |
| 1977 | 3.2% | -17.4% |
| 1978 | 2.6% | -17.8% |
| 1979 | 3.7% | +41.7% |
| 1980 | 3.2% | -14.2% |
| 1981 | 3.2% | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 1.9% | -39.5% |
| 1983 | 2.6% | +32.4% |
| 1984 | 2.0% | -22.5% |
| 1985 | 0.3% | -84.1% |
| 1986 | 0.7% | +128.7% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | +20.7% |
| 1988 | 3.7% | +319.4% |
| 1989 | 5.8% | +57.3% |
| 1990 | 5.5% | -4.3% |
| 1991 | 5.1% | -7.1% |
| 1992 | 6.7% | +31.1% |
| 1993 | 8.4% | +25.2% |
| 1994 | 7.4% | -12.1% |
| 1995 | 6.7% | -9.3% |
| 1996 | 6.8% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 10.6% | +56.8% |
| 1998 | 8.1% | -24.0% |
| 1999 | 7.5% | -7.4% |
| 2000 | 9.6% | +28.1% |
| 2001 | 8.2% | -14.6% |
| 2002 | 8.1% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 6.5% | -19.8% |
| 2004 | 5.5% | -15.6% |
| 2005 | 7.4% | +35.3% |
| 2006 | 7.1% | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 6.7% | -6.9% |
| 2008 | 3.3% | -50.9% |
| 2009 | 6.0% | +84.6% |
| 2010 | 11.1% | +83.4% |
| 2011 | 10.3% | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 8.4% | -18.8% |
| 2013 | 8.8% | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 7.2% | -17.8% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | +6.8% |
| 2016 | 9.4% | +21.7% |
| 2017 | 8.0% | -14.7% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | -9.9% |
| 2019 | 6.5% | -10.1% |
| 2020 | 9.0% | +38.9% |
| 2021 | 7.3% | -19.1% |
| 2022 | 6.4% | -12.4% |
| 2023 | 6.2% | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 4.7% | -24.4% |
| 2025 | 7.2% | +53.9% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 7.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.3%, 1.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 7.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.2%, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +319.4% | 0.9% | 3.7% |
| 1986 | +128.7% | 0.3% | 0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.7% | 2.6% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.4% | 0.3% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.3% | 5.1% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.8% | 3.3% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.5% | 6.5% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.8% | 4.7% | 9.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More financial sector data for Nigeria
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 1.01 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 0.7387 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 1.01 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest rate spread in Nigeria?
- Interest rate spread in Nigeria was 7.2% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest rate spread recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 11.1% in 2010.
- What is the lowest interest rate spread recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1985.
- How does Nigeria rank for interest rate spread?
- Nigeria ranks 40th out of 141 countries with data for 2025.
- Is interest rate spread rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Interest rate spread is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the interest rate paid by commercial or similar banks for demand, time, or savings deposits. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.