Survey Shows 61% of Nigerian Adults in Severe Financial Distress
- EFInA's 2026 A2F Survey found that most Nigerian adults are under severe financial pressure despite rising access to formal services
- Digital finance and mobile money use surged, but formal credit, insurance and pension uptake remained critically low across the country
- Former CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and current CBN chief Cardoso both weighed in on what the findings mean for Nigeria's reform path
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
About 61% of Nigerian adults are living under severe liquidity distress, a new national survey has found, even as more people gain access to formal financial services.
The 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey, released by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) on Wednesday, September 17, in Abuja, showed that expanding financial inclusion had not yet translated into stronger financial outcomes for most Nigerians.
Source: Getty Images
How Nigerians are coping with financial shocks
Among adults who suffered a financial shock, 71.6% turned to fragile or erosive coping methods, while only 13.8% used protective or adaptive responses.
EFInA Chief Executive Officer Foyinsolami Akinjayeju said 51.2% of farmers experienced a financial shock, with 52.2% of those exposed to shocks relying on erosive coping methods and 76% left with residual distress.
Financial exclusion dropped to 21% nationally, but the burden fell heavily on the poorest Nigerians. About 53% of adults in the lowest wealth bracket remained financially excluded, compared with just 1% among the wealthiest.
Nearly half of all excluded adults were in the poorest 20% of the population.
The survey also found that geography alone did not account for the gap, noting that exclusion sat at 16% among middle-wealth Nigerians in both rural and urban settings.
Formal inclusion among women business owners rose to 76.3% from 67.5%, and inclusion among women farmers climbed to 53.6% from 42.7%.
However, exclusion among dependent women increased to 52.2%.
Digital finance grows but credit lags
Mobile money usage more than tripled to 38% in 2026, up from 12% in 2023, while overall digital financial usage rose to 64% from about 47%. Formal savings increased to 53% from 38%.
Source: Getty Images
Despite these gains, formal credit held at 10%, insurance at 5%, and pension participation at roughly 9%.
EFInA said:
"The findings point to a financial system that is helping Nigerians move and store money more effectively than it is helping them finance livelihoods or transfer risk."
Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi used the occasion to warn against undoing economic reforms, saying that policy reversals had repeatedly forced Nigeria to restart its reform cycle.
He said:
"I think one of the sad things about the country is how easy it is to take 10 steps forward and then take 30 steps back."
BVN enrolments in Nigeria hit 69.9m
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's Bank Verification Number (BVN) database has reached 69,972,475 as of August 23, 2026, edging the country closer to the 70 million enrolment mark, according to data published by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The latest figures show that enrolments grew by 183,282 between August 3 and August 23, up sharply from the 63,336 additions recorded in the week.
The BVN database stood at around 69.55 million in early July and has climbed steadily since.
Source: Legit.ng
