Nigeria has surpassed its formal financial inclusion target, with 73% of adults now having access to formal financial services, but about 60.4 million formally included adults remain financially vulnerable or are merely coping.
The findings are contained in 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. The survey covered 18,679 adults across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Overall financial inclusion, covering both formal and informal services, rose to 79% in 2026 from 74% in 2023 and 68% in 2020. Formal inclusion increased from 64% in 2023 to 73%, representing about 87.2 million adults.
However, access has not translated into financial resilience. Only 30.7% of formally included adults are considered financially healthy, while only about 10.6% can raise N156,000 within seven days without difficulty. The survey describes the widening gap between access and financial wellbeing as “participation without progress.”
The report also found a shift in how Nigerians use formal credit. Borrowing for coping and consumption rose to 40.8% in 2026 from 31.7% in 2023, overtaking productive enterprise borrowing, which fell from 40.2% to 34.3%.
Insurance and pension coverage also remain low. Formal insurance penetration stands at just 5.2%, while pension participation is about 9% of adults.
Financial inclusion remains uneven geographically, with formal inclusion reaching 96.4% in the South-West, compared with 61.4% in the North-East and 62.7% in the North-West. The urban-rural gap has also widened, with formal inclusion at 85% in urban areas against 58% in rural communities.
The findings suggest that Nigeria’s next financial inclusion challenge is no longer simply getting people into formal financial systems, but ensuring that access translates into financial security, productive borrowing and greater resilience.
