61% Nigerian Adults In Severe Liquidity Distress — Report

More than six in 10 Nigerian adults are trapped in severe liquidity distress, even as the country’s financial inclusion rate climbs to 73 per cent, according to the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey released by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Advacement (EFInA).

EFInA said that 61 per cent of Nigerian adults remained in severe liquidity distress, even as more Nigerians gain access to the formal financial system.

This is contained in the findings of its 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey, which examined how Nigerians are participating in the financial system and how they manage financial pressure and shocks.

According to the survey, debt stress has also increased, and financial inclusion is not translating into stronger financial resilience at the same pace at which access is growing. It said that among adults who experienced financial shocks, 71.6 per cent relied on fragile or erosive coping mechanisms, such as borrowing, selling assets or cutting essential spending, compared with 13.8 per cent who used protective or adaptive coping strategies.

EFInA said this distinction is important, noting that while a household may survive an emergency by borrowing or selling assets, such responses can weaken its ability to withstand future shocks. The findings, it said, raise the question of whether financial services can help Nigerians recover from shocks without leaving them worse off.

The survey found that financial exclusion in Nigeria has fallen to 21 per cent, but that the remaining exclusion is increasingly concentrated among poorer households. It said 53 per cent of adults in the poorest wealth quintile remain financially excluded, compared with just one per cent of adults in the richest quintile, with almost half of all excluded Nigerians drawn from the poorest 20 per cent of the population.

On digital finance, the report said usage rose from about 47 per cent to 64 per cent, while mobile money usage more than tripled from 12 per cent in 2023 to 38 per cent in 2026, with mobile money increasingly used for bills and purchases, in addition to transfers. It, however, noted that cash and agents remain important, as 92 per cent of agricultural workers said they still receive payments in cash.

The findings also showed that saving is advancing faster than other financial needs, with formal saving rising from 38 per cent to 53 per cent, while formal credit remained at 10 per cent, insurance at five per cent and pensions at about nine per cent.

On sector-specific outcomes, the survey found that 51.2 per cent of farmers experienced a shock, with 52.2 per cent of shock-exposed farmers resorting to erosive coping methods and 76 per cent reporting residual distress. For women, formal inclusion among women business owners rose from 67.5 per cent to 76.3 per cent, and among women farmers from 42.7 per cent to 53.6 per cent, even as exclusion among dependent women rose to 52.2 per cent.

EFInA said the A2F 2026 Survey was designed to look beyond access and examine what financial inclusion enables Nigerians to do, providing evidence for policymakers, regulators, financial service providers and development partners on how services can better support households to manage financial needs, finance livelihoods, protect against risks and withstand shocks.