Statsguru: Nearly half of all unbanked adults live in just seven economies

The World Bank released the third edition of its Global Findex Database. The previous two editions were in 2011 and 2014. It provides a sneak peek into the world of adults of 140 economies, including both those with accounts and those without. There’s a wide body of research that points to the crucial role of financial inclusion towards reducing poverty, hunger and gender inequalities. The report shows that since its last edition in 2014, 515 million adults across the world have gained access to financial tools. Yet, 1.7 billion adults still lack a bank account.

Chart 1 shows that nearly half