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The Global Findex database is the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Launched with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the database has been published every three years since 2011. The data are collected in partnership with Gallup, Inc., through nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults in over 140 economies. The 2017 edition includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. And it adds new data on the use of financial technology (fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the internet to conduct financial transactions.

Financial inclusion is on the rise globally. The 2017 Global Findex database shows that 1.2 billion adults have obtained an account since 2011, including 515 million since 2014. Between 2014 and 2017, the share of adults who have an account with a financial institution or through a mobile money service rose globally from 62 percent to 69 percent. In developing economies, the share rose from 54 percent to 63 percent. Yet, women in developing economies remain 9 percentage points less likely than men to have a bank account. This third edition of the database points to advances in digital technology that are key to achieving the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020.

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This overview distills key findings from each of the six chapters of the main report on the 2017 Global Findex database

Account ownership

Globally, 69 percent of adults have an account, up from 62 percent in 2014 and 51 percent in 2011. Account ownership varies among economies and by individual characteristics like gender and income.

The unbanked

About 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked—without an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money provider. In 2014 that number was 2 billion.

Payments

The 2017 Global Findex survey asked people what kinds of payments they make and receive and how they carry out these transactions—whether using an account or in cash.

Use of accounts

Once people have an account, the next step is to ensure that they can transact in safe and convenient ways. This chapter explores how people use technology to access and use their accounts.

Data

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The Global Findex database provides more than 200 indicators on topics such as account ownership, payments, saving, credit, and financial resilience. Global Findex data is reported for all indicators by country, region, and income group. Available indicators are reported for 2017, 2014, and 2011.

Data Documentation

Data By Report Chapter

Saving, credit and financial resilience

Access to mobile phones and the internet around the world

Opportunities for expanding financial inclusion through digital technology

Account Ownership, 2011-2017

Data Book