Financial Inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa

A man shops for fruit in Gaza.
A man shops for fruit in Gaza. Photo by Natalia Cieslik, World Bank, 2010.

Financial inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa has progressed at a modest pace over the past ten years, growing from 43% account ownership among adults in 2014 to 53% in 2024, according to the Global Findex Database 2025. However, instability in the region has caused this number to rise and fall during the period as gains are sometimes reversed, and the region currently has the lowest level of account access in the world (excluding high-income countries). Iran, with its large population and more developed economy, has the highest level of account access in the region at 91%, skewing the regional number slightly upward. No other country in the region comes close, with Jordan having the next highest level at 47%, then Morocco (44%) and Egypt (43%). Of the countries reporting data, Lebanon has the lowest level of financial account access at 23%. 

Only 44% of the region’s adults used digital payments in the past year – the lowest rate among world regions, tied with South Asia - and again this number is skewed upwards by Iran’s large economy, where 86% of adults reported using digital payments. All other countries in the region have digital payment usage rates of lower than 40%, with the highest levels being found in Jordan (38%), Egypt (36%) and Morocco (32%), and the lowest in Algeria (13%). 

Gender gap in financial inclusion

The financial inclusion gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa has widened in recent years and is currently the highest among world regions (excluding high-income economies) at 14 percentage points. Only 46% of the region’s women own a financial account compared to 60% of men. Most countries in the region have even higher gender gaps, including Algeria with the highest, at 34 percentage points, Tunisia at 23 points and Iraq at 22 points. Women are also less likely to use digital payments than men, with 38% of women using them compared to 50% of men, a gap of 12 percentage points. 

These gender disparities indicate a significant need across the region for targeted policies that prioritize women’s financial inclusion. Research shows that financial services, especially credit and savings, can contribute to women’s economic empowerment through increased agency, as women gain more control over financial resources and participate in decision-making, and increased access to better jobs.  To explore the link between access to financial services and women’s economic empowerment, refer to CGAP’s Impact Pathfinder, which synthesizes decades of research on this topic. To learn more about how the financial inclusion sector is working towards women’s economic empowerment, join FinEquity, a community of practice to empower women through financial inclusion, convened by CGAP.

Resilience 

The Middle East and North Africa faces some of the most complex development challenges in the world, including fragility and conflict, food security, macroeconomic stability, unemployment and gender inequality. Climate shocks add to these challenges, and 22% of adults in the region reported having experienced a natural disaster or severe weather event in the past three years, with 7% losing income and another 7% seeing property damage as a result. 

Only 28% say they could cover expenses for more than two months if their household lost its main income source, and 47% could only cover expenses for a month or less. With such low levels of financial resilience combined with high exposure to multiple types of shocks, there is a need for a wide range of financial services to help strengthen households’ capacity to absorb and recover from crises. To explore the link between access to financial services and climate resilience, refer to CGAP’s Impact Pathfinder, which synthesizes decades of research on this topic.