Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Nigeria
Nigeria: Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) was 1.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Risk premium on lending in Nigeria, 1991–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %.
Analysis
In 2025, risk premium on lending in Nigeria stood at 1.9%.
That represents a change of up 599.3% on the previous year and down 74.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk premium on lending in Nigeria peaked at 15.2% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2024.
Nigeria ranks 64th of 86 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus treasury bill rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3.0% | — |
| 1992 | 6.9% | +125.8% |
| 1993 | 7.2% | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 7.6% | +6.5% |
| 1995 | 7.7% | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 7.6% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 5.8% | -23.6% |
| 1998 | 5.9% | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 2.5% | -58.3% |
| 2000 | 5.8% | +133.5% |
| 2001 | 5.9% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 5.7% | -3.4% |
| 2003 | 5.9% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 4.8% | -18.3% |
| 2005 | 10.1% | +109.0% |
| 2006 | 8.0% | -20.8% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | +26.3% |
| 2008 | 6.9% | -31.5% |
| 2009 | 15.2% | +119.3% |
| 2010 | 13.7% | -9.7% |
| 2011 | 6.3% | -54.0% |
| 2012 | 3.2% | -50.0% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | +86.0% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | +24.1% |
| 2016 | 6.7% | -9.8% |
| 2017 | 4.1% | -38.5% |
| 2018 | 6.8% | +64.7% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | -15.8% |
| 2020 | 12.0% | +109.2% |
| 2021 | 9.3% | -22.4% |
| 2022 | 8.8% | -5.9% |
| 2023 | 9.3% | +5.8% |
| 2024 | 0.3% | -97.1% |
| 2025 | 1.9% | +599.3% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 1.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.5%, 54% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 1.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.7%, 33% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +599.3% | 0.3% | 1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.0% | 2.5% | 7.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 7.9% | 4.8% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.6% | 3.2% | 13.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.9% | 0.3% | 12.0% | 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 risk premium on lending in Nigeria?
- Risk premium on lending in Nigeria was 1.9% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest risk premium on lending recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 15.2% in 2009.
- What is the lowest risk premium on lending recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2024.
- How does Nigeria rank for risk premium on lending?
- Nigeria ranks 64th out of 86 countries with data for 2025.
- Is risk premium on lending rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 74.6%. 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 Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.