Nigeria, July 10 -- Claim: An X user claims that while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is "worth $700 billion," Nigeria is "$500 billion in debt," despite discovering oil two years earlier.

Verdict: Mostly false! While Nigeria discovered commercial oil before the UAE, the claim that Nigeria has a $500 billion debt is false. Likewise, the UAE's net wealth is $3.12 trillion, not $700 billion as claimed.

On 25 June 2026, an X user, @felixherbt, shared a post comparing Nigeria's debt with the UAE's "worth."

The post (archived here) reads, "Nigeria discovered oil in 1956. The UAE discovered it in 1958. Today, the UAE is worth $700 billion. Nigeria is $500 billion in debt. Same resources, same decade, opposite results."

As of 2 July 2026, th...