Top 10 world countries with financially literate population

Experts have compiled a rating of countries where the most financially literate people live. It is based on the data from a global survey conducted by S3333P in 140 world countries which surveyed 150,000 people over the age of 15.

So, the highest level of financial literacy in the world is attributed to the residents of countries with developed economies, in particular, representatives of Western European countries and English-speaking countries such as Canada and Australia. Depending on the country, people's awareness of financial instruments ranges from 71 % to 13 %. A significant difference, isn't it?

Here is the TOP 10 countries with the highest level of financial literacy of residents, where % is the percentage of survey participants who showed a sufficient level of knowledge:

1. Denmark: 71%

2. Norway: 71%

3. Sweden: 71%

4. Canada: 68%

5. Israel: 68%

6. United Kingdom: 67%

7. Germany: 66%

8. The Netherlands: 66%

9. Australia: 64%

10. Finland: 63%

Here are some interesting facts about the survey results:

- The highest level of financial literacy in the world is recorded in most Western European countries and in English-speaking countries such as Canada (68 %), Australia (64%), the United States (57%). These are all countries with developed economies.
- There is no state in South America where the population literacy rate exceeds 50 %.
- The difference in financial literacy between some Western European countries is surprising: 71 % in Scandinavia and only 26 % in Portugal.
- Eastern Europe drags far behind Western Europe: no state to the east or south of Hungary has more than 50 %.
- The African continent also showed the results that are less than ideal. Only one country, Botswana, exceeded the 50 % point. Most of the other states fall within the range of 31 % - 40 %. The financial literacy rate in Somalia is only 15%, in Sierra Leone - 21%.
- The situation in Asia and the Middle East is comparable to that in Africa. Yemen (13%) and Afghanistan (14%) are at the bottom of the world ranking. Residents of Kyrgyzstan (19%), Nepal (18%), Bangladesh (19%) and Cambodia (18%) also showed, to put it mildly, insufficient knowledge results.
- China has a surprisingly low score - just 28%, given that it is the world's second-largest economy.
- Russia's result is only 38 %. This is lower than in the neighboring Kazakhstan (40 %), Mongolia (41%), Ukraine (40%) and Finland (63%).

The data of S3333P research showed that only 1 in 3 people in the world is financially literate. The groups of people that are most affected by financial knowledge gaps are the poor, uneducated and women.

According to the experts, insufficient financial literacy leads to limited access to financial instruments and has a negative impact on living standards.

What are your impressions of these statistics? Surprised by the results?