The Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA), in its recent survey, reported that financial inclusion in Nigeria improved in 2026 compared with previous years.
The findings were presented on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, in Abuja, at the official launch of the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey Report. The event was held under the theme, “Access, Opportunity, Growth: Advancing Financial and Economic Inclusion for All Nigerians,” with the Board Chair of EFInA, Dr. Agnes Olatokunbo Martins, in attendance.
The 2026 survey was conducted between April and June 2026 under the supervision of the National Bureau of Statistics and covered 18,679 adults aged 18 and above across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The latest findings indicate that overall financial inclusion increased to 79 per cent in 2026, while financial exclusion declined to 21 per cent, compared with 26 per cent in 2023.
The figures indicate a continued expansion in access to financial services. However, the survey also points to significant gaps in the use of financial products that can support longer-term financial resilience.
Formal credit, for example, was used by only 10 per cent of adults, while insurance penetration stood at 5 per cent.
EFInA Chief Executive Officer, Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, said the findings showed that increased access had not translated into improvements in financial well-being at the same pace.
Financial health increased from 16 per cent in 2023 to 25 per cent in 2026, according to the survey findings. This means that three-quarters of adults were still classified as financially unhealthy under the survey’s measure.
The survey also identified significant differences among population groups. Formal inclusion was reported at 85 per cent among urban adults, compared with 58 per cent among rural adults. Among women, formal inclusion stood at 67 per cent, leaving an 11-percentage-point gender gap nationally.
The pension sector, on the other hand, emerged as an area where the gap between access and meaningful long-term financial security remains particularly pronounced.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, said pension participation among Nigerian adults increased from 7.8 per cent in 2023 to 9.1 per cent in 2026.
Despite the increase, the figure means that roughly nine in every 10 Nigerian adults remain outside a formal pension arrangement.
Oloworaran said the figures demonstrated the need to expand pension participation beyond conventional formal employment and reach workers whose incomes are generated outside traditional employer-based arrangements.
She specifically identified groups including traders, farmers, mechanics, drivers, tailors, hairdressers and workers in the digital economy as part of the population requiring greater pension coverage.
She proposed the development of a pension inclusion map to identify gaps according to geography, gender, age, occupation and income.
She expressed the commission’s determination to make it easier for every working Nigerian to build pension savings in a way that is accessible and affordable.
The discussion at the A2F 2026 launch reflects a broader question facing Nigeria’s financial sector: whether growth in access is translating into tangible improvements in people’s economic lives.
EFInA’s latest survey indicates that financial inclusion has continued to expand since the 2023 survey. At the same time, relatively low levels of formal credit, insurance and pension participation show that access remains uneven across different financial products and population groups.
