Nigeria Hits 73% Financial Inclusion Target, but 60.4 Million Adults Remain Financially Vulnerable

Nigeria has exceeded its formal financial-inclusion target, with 73% of adults now participating in the formal financial system, but a large proportion of those with access to financial services remain financially vulnerable, according to the latest national financial-inclusion survey.

The 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey, conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) and weighted by the National Bureau of Statistics, showed that formal financial inclusion increased to 73% this year, equivalent to approximately 87.2 million adults.

The latest figure is above the 70% target set under Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

It also represents a significant improvement from 64% recorded in 2023 and 56% in 2020.

Overall financial inclusion, which combines formal and informal access to financial services, reached 79%, covering approximately 94.2 million adults.

Digital financial services have been a major driver of the improvement.

Digital financial-service usage increased from 45% in 2023 to 64.4% in 2026, representing approximately 77 million adults.

Despite the expansion in access, however, the survey identified a major gap between financial inclusion and actual financial wellbeing.

Only 30.7% of formally included adults are considered financially healthy, leaving approximately 60.4 million adults financially vulnerable or merely coping despite having access to formal financial services.

The survey therefore points to a growing distinction between being able to access a bank account, digital wallet, credit facility or payment service and actually having sufficient financial resilience to withstand economic shocks.

One of the clearest indications of this problem is the ability to raise emergency funds.

Only 10.6% of formally included adults said they could raise N156,000 within seven days without difficulty.

Across the entire adult population, only about 25% were classified as financially healthy.