Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: Regional Note (World Bank Global Findex)

Summary

• Only 41 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa are financially resilient, defined as being able to access 5 percent of GNI per capita within 30 days.p.1
• A gender gap exists in financial resilience across Sub-Saharan Africa, with 35 percent of women considered resilient compared to 46 percent of men.p.1
• Family and friends are the most common source of emergency money, cited by 32 percent of adults in the region.p.2
• Only 13 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa would turn to savings to manage a financial emergency.p.2
• About 95 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa worry about at least one common source of financial stress.p.3
• As of 2022, slightly over half of all savers in Sub-Saharan Africa used formal accounts, marking the first time formal methods dominated informal savings.p.4

Key insights

1. Only 41 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa are financially resilient to manage unexpected financial expenses within 30 days.p.1
2. National income levels do not directly correlate with resilience, as lower-middle income Zambia has a 21 percent resilience rate while low-income Ethiopia reaches 37 percent.p.2
3. Savings are the most reliable source of emergency funds, yet only 13 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on them.p.2
4. Over half of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa who rely on family and friends for emergency funds report that the money is very difficult to obtain.p.2
5. In Zambia, school fees surpass medical bills as the top financial worry, cited by 53 percent of adults.p.3
6. Formal accounts became the primary savings channel in Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time as of 2022, used by slightly over half of all savers.p.4
7. About 20 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa have borrowed money specifically to cover medical expenses.p.4