Account ownership, or the capacity to hold and manage a bank or mobile money account, is one of the most important measures of financial inclusion globally. In Africa, where millions of people have historically been shut out of formal financial systems, account ownership is particularly crucial.
- Despite global progress, millions in Africa remain excluded from formal financial systems, with Niger recording the lowest account ownership at just 15%.
- Mobile money is transforming financial inclusion, with Sub-Saharan Africa leading the world as 40% of adults now own a mobile money account.
- A third of account holders in Sub-Saharan Africa rely solely on mobile money, highlighting both innovation and gaps in traditional banking access.
- The World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 shows that while account ownership has surged in low- and middle-income economies, stark disparities persist across African countries.
Regarding financial institutions, 79 percent of adults worldwide hold an account with a bank, credit union, post office, microfinance organization, or mobile money provider, as per The Global Findex 2025 report by the World Bank.
The figure above is in line with the global lender’s analysis, which also shows that account ownership rates vary greatly between economies.
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The percentage of account owners in the 139 economies that make up Global Findex 2025 ranges from 100% in high-income nations like Canada to just 15% in low-income, fragile, and conflict-ridden Niger.
“Among low-income economies, account ownership ranges from 15 percent in Niger to 73 percent in Uganda,” the report states.
While Africa may not boast the highest percentage of account ownership in traditional banks, the continent is rapidly picking up in mobile money penetration.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to have the highest rate of mobile money account ownership in the world, at 40% of adults, as per the World Bank’s report.
The region is, however, not the only continent or sub-continent with a high rate of mobile money account ownership.
Nonetheless, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to stand out for having a substantial number of individuals who only use mobile money accounts.
A third of the region’s account holders, 20% of adults, have no other type of account. In all other locations, fewer than 5% of individuals and 6% of account holders have solely a mobile money account.
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“Compared with the rate in 2021, mobile money account ownership had increased by 13 and 15 percentage points in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, respectively, in 2024.
In South Asia, 22 percent of adults have a mobile money account, a 10 percentage point increase since 2021,” the report states.
Overall, account ownership in low- and middle-income economies increased by 34 percentage points, from 42% in 2011 to 75% in 2024, or an 80% rise.
With that said, here are the African countries with the fewest people with a bank account.
