Nigeria’s financial inclusion ratio rose to 73 percent in 2026, surpassing the 70 percent target. Nonetheless, half of the 60.4 million formally included adults are vulnerable or just surviving financially.
Only 30.7 percent of formally included adults are financially healthy, according to the 2026 EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria survey, published by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The News Chronicle reports that the percentage of people using digital financial services has also risen in Nigeria. It climbed from 45 percent in 2023 to 64.4 percent in 2026.
However, only 5.2 percent of adults in Nigeria have insurance, and just nine percent have pensions.
Additionally, the report noted a big discrepancy between urban and rural regions, with the former having a formal inclusion level of 85 percent compared to 58 percent in the latter.
The report’s conclusion was that financial access was no longer a problem in Nigeria.
However, the next step is to ensure that the population is not just surviving but thriving and that credit use is transitioning from being a means of survival to a tool for generating income.
