World Bank Group · Account Ownership at a Financial Institution
Account ownership by country
How many adults have a bank or mobile-money account?
Iceland placed first of the 139 countries compared in 2024, at 99.85%, and Niger last, at 14.83%. In the middle country the figure was 72.83%. Among the 106 countries measured in every edition since 2011, the middle one moved from 44.21% to 81.40%.
Part ofEconomy & InnovationDevelopment & Human CapitalMoney & Public Finance
Account ownership · 2024
Key statistic · Economy & Innovation
Highest of 139Iceland
99.85%012024 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 139 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: Joonas Lyytinen · CC BY-SA 2.5, greyscale
3Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
02Every measured country
Account ownership on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 14.83–48.83%
- 49.52–64.10%
- 64.16–81.69%
- 81.74–96.13%
- 96.56–99.85%
- No reading in 2024 (22 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
93.81%
the middle country, of 38 measured · 49 members
Iceland99.85%
Albania46.07%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Asia
74.46%
the middle country, of 37 measured · 52 members
Japan98.52%
Lebanon23.04%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Americas
64.64%
the middle country, of 22 measured · 48 members
Canada98.40%
Nicaragua23.47%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
53.30%
the middle country, of 40 measured · 55 members
Kenya90.12%
Niger14.83%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
2 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia98.01%
New Zealand97.86%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
19 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Western Europe
98.79%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Austria99.51%
Belgium98.24%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Northern Europe
98.78%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Iceland99.85%
Latvia94.97%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Eastern Asia
97.31%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Japan98.52%
China89.38%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
86.14%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 10 members
Czechia92.28%
Moldova55.54%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Southern Europe
86.02%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Slovenia98.75%Albania46.07%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Asia
72.92%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 19 members
Cyprus96.13%Lebanon23.04%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Southern Asia
70.84%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Iran91.06%
Pakistan27.30%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- South America
69.13%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 12 members
Venezuela87.32%
Bolivia56.85%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Southern Africa
65.12%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa81.13%
Botswana61.44%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
63.44%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
Singapore97.97%
Laos37.65%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
55.58%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Gabon68.18%
Chad20.90%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Eastern Africa
54.39%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 19 members
Kenya90.12%
Madagascar24.45%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Western Africa
52.03%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 16 members
Ghana81.24%Niger14.83%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Central America
48.22%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica71.35%Nicaragua23.47%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Northern Africa
37.84%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 6 members
Morocco44.39%
Libya33.12%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia98.01%New Zealand97.86%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
2 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad and Tobago74.59%
Dominican Republic64.78%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan87.05%
Tajikistan54.52%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada98.40%
United States97.02%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
139 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 72.83%; a quarter are above 90.59%, and a quarter below 53.71%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 161 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. The survey percentages carry full precision and almost nothing ties, so this table separates cleanly from top to bottom.
Showing 25 of 161 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2021 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052011–2024 · 5 editions
Over time
Each point is one survey wave — 2011, 2014, 2017, 2021 and 2024. These really are separately published reports, so a move between two points is a move between two surveys.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 106 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 139 | 72.83% | 53.71% – 90.59% | 81.40% |
| 2021 | 122 | 73.70% | 48.83% – 94.95% | 78.36% |
| 2017 | 144 | 58.65% | 40.00% – 85.64% | 68.21% |
| 2014 | 141 | 51.96% | 29.15% – 83.09% | 56.85% |
| 2011 | 143 | 37.03% | 18.87% – 73.73% | 44.21% |
062021 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Kyrgyzstan45.09% → 72.26% · 98th → 72nd+27.17
Zambia48.52% → 72.70% · 93rd → 71st+24.18
Senegal55.96% → 76.46% · 78th → 64th+20.50
Panama44.97% → 64.10% · 99th → 84th+19.13
Nigeria45.32% → 63.26% · 97th → 85th+17.94
117 countries were measured in both 2021 and 2024. The field changed from 122 to 139 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Account ownership in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
Reached 5 times by 4 countries — shared, so no holder is named
100.00%
Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+)
Lowest reading on record
0.40%
Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+)
Biggest improvement between editions
+35.57
11.46% → 47.02%
Biggest decline between editions
−24.05
44.75% → 20.70%
Most improved since first measured
+70.64
5.82% → 76.46%
At the top most often
2 of 5
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About account ownership
Account ownership is the World Bank’s headline measure of financial inclusion: the share of adults who hold an account at a bank or other financial institution, or who used a mobile-money service in the past year. It comes from the Global Findex survey, run roughly every three years.
What the number is: Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+).
What it does not measure
It counts whether adults have an account, not whether they use it, what it holds or what it costs to keep. A dormant account counts the same as a busy one.
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
A key statistic for Economy & Innovation
“Whether ordinary adults are inside the financial system at all, which output per person does not reveal.”
- Edition used
- 2024 (data 2024)
- Countries
- 139
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
Moves with
Where account ownership is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Learning-Adjusted Years of SchoolWorld Bank Group · 134 countries in commonρ 0.82
- Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 130 countries in commonρ 0.82
- Human Development IndexKeyUNDP Human Development Report Office · 138 countries in commonρ 0.81
Moves against
Where account ownership is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Learning PovertyWorld Bank Group and UNESCO Institute for Statistics · 102 countries in commonρ −0.82
- Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 135 countries in commonρ −0.77
- Under-Five Mortality RateKeyUN IGME · 138 countries in commonρ −0.76
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 177 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
Account ownership: questions and answers
Which country has the highest account ownership?
Iceland, at 99.85%, among the 139 countries compared in 2024.
Which country has the lowest account ownership?
Niger, at 14.83%, among the 139 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Account Ownership at a Financial Institution cover?
139 in 2024, and 161 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 122 to 144 between editions.
What is the world average account ownership?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 139 compared in 2024, the figure was 72.83%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No. World Bank Group publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Account Ownership at a Financial Institution published?
This site holds 5 editions, describing 2011 to 2024.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. Pulled from the World Bank’s indicator API (FX.OWN.TOTL.ZS). A 2022 row covering just 16 countries is skipped — a partial refresh between waves, not an edition. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution — World Bank Group
Pulled from the World Bank’s indicator API (FX.OWN.TOTL.ZS). A 2022 row covering just 16 countries is skipped — a partial refresh between waves, not an edition.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: World Bank. The Global Findex Database. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-08-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Iceland — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Finland — Joonas Lyytinen, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Account ownership by country: Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/account-ownership