India comes second in financial literacy: ING

According to ING Consumer Resourcefulness Survey, majority of Indian consumers show better financial management skills and are more confident of facing any financial impediments in future, as against citizens of nine other countries. Indians are the second best (as against citizens of ten other nations) to have a basic financial literacy level, of 55 per cent, just behind the Japanese.

Uco Vegter, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, ING Life India says, "Indians are better prepared for various lifestages, especially retirement. However, they tend to get lost in sourcing good advice to become better at money."

The survey shows 84 per cent Indians prefer buying life insurance products compared to 54 per cent globally and a similar percentage of Indians believe in maintaining a household budget with focus on savings. Indians are averse to borrowing money. They borrow money only in case they have to buy a house (50 per cent) or a car (43 per cent). Compared to 33 per cent globally, 87 per cent of Indian households have an emergency fund.

The survey was conducted by New York Stock Exchange-listed, ING Groep, and research consultancy firm, Epiphany, amongst 5000 consumers across ten nations, including India, United States, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Korea and Japan. It was to gain a better understanding of how consumers’ financial literacy level influences their attitudes and behaviours and identify the potential similarities and differences across countries, age and gender.