Women’s Financial Inclusion Surges in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, but Gender Gap Remains
Women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have made remarkable progress in gaining access to formal financial services over the past decade. New data highlighted by the World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2025 show that the share of women with an account has climbed substantially since 2014, bringing millions of women closer to the formal financial system.
However, the data also reveal an important challenge: despite rapid progress, women continue to lag behind men in account ownership.
According to the chart based on the World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2025, account ownership among men in LMICs increased from 59 percent in 2014 to 78 percent in 2024. Among women, the increase was even more striking, rising from 50 percent to 73 percent over the same period.
The figures illustrate both the progress achieved and the work that remains to make financial inclusion more equal.
A Decade of Rapid Progress
In 2014, only half of women in LMICs had an account, compared with 59 percent of men. The 9-percentage-point difference reflected a significant gender divide in access to financial services.
Three years later, the situation had improved. By 2017, account ownership had risen to approximately 60 percent for women and 68 percent for men. The gap remained, but the overall direction was clearly positive.
The momentum continued through 2021. Women’s account ownership reached 66 percent, while the share for men rose to 72 percent. By 2024, women had reached 73 percent, compared with 78 percent among men.
This means women’s account ownership increased by about 23 percentage points between 2014 and 2024, while men’s ownership rose by around 19 percentage points.
The progress is significant because having an account is often the first step toward broader participation in the formal economy.
Why Account Ownership Matters
A bank or mobile-money account is more than a place to keep money. It can provide access to payments, savings, credit and other financial services.
The World Bank describes account ownership as a fundamental measure of financial inclusion because formal accounts can enable people to store, send and receive money and support spending on areas such as education, health and business activities.
For women, access to financial services can have particularly important economic consequences.
An account can allow women to receive wages directly, accept government payments, save independently, transfer money to family members and make digital purchases. For women running small businesses, digital financial tools can also make it easier to receive customer payments and manage business finances.
Greater financial independence can therefore contribute to wider economic participation.
Digital Finance Is Changing the Landscape
One of the major forces behind the expansion of financial inclusion has been digital technology.
Mobile phones and digital payment systems have made it possible for people to access financial services without relying exclusively on traditional bank branches. This is particularly important in areas where physical banking infrastructure is limited.
The Global Findex 2025 is notable because it goes beyond traditional measurements of financial inclusion. The database includes globally comparable information on mobile-phone ownership, internet use and digital safety for the first time. The 2025 edition is based on nationally representative surveys of approximately 148,000 adults across 141 economies, conducted during 2024.
The World Bank has also reported that digital financial services are helping narrow the gender gap. Globally, 77 percent of women and 81 percent of men had accounts in 2024. In LMICs, women’s account ownership nearly doubled from 37 percent in 2011 to 73 percent in 2024.
The Gender Gap Has Narrowed
The most encouraging feature of the chart is not simply that account ownership has increased. It is that the distance between women and men has become considerably smaller.
In 2014, the gap shown in the LMIC data was about nine percentage points. By 2024, it had narrowed to approximately five percentage points.
That represents meaningful progress, but it does not mean the problem has disappeared.
Millions of women in developing economies still remain outside formal financial systems. The remaining gap can be connected to differences in income, employment, access to identification, technology, financial literacy and social or institutional barriers.
The World Bank has previously identified factors such as insufficient money, distance from financial institutions and lack of appropriate documentation among barriers faced by people without accounts.
India Offers an Important Example
India illustrates how quickly financial inclusion can change when digital infrastructure, banking access and public policy develop together.
World Bank data show that account ownership among Indian women rose from 43.1 percent in 2014 to 89.2 percent in 2024. Male ownership increased from 62.8 percent to 88.8 percent over the same period.
India’s figures demonstrate that the gender divide can change dramatically when large-scale financial access initiatives are combined with digital payment infrastructure and widespread mobile connectivity.
However, higher account ownership does not automatically mean that every account is actively used. The next stage of financial inclusion is therefore likely to focus increasingly on how people use accounts for saving, payments, borrowing, insurance and other productive purposes.
Financial Inclusion Must Go Beyond Opening Accounts
Experts and policymakers increasingly view account ownership as the beginning rather than the end of financial inclusion.
A woman may have a bank account but still face difficulties using it independently. Limited financial knowledge, lack of digital skills, unreliable internet access or concerns about fraud can prevent people from making full use of financial services.
Digital expansion also creates new risks.
The World Bank’s 2025 findings indicate that among roughly four billion adults in LMICs who own a mobile phone, only about half use a password to protect their device. That highlights the importance of cybersecurity and digital safety alongside financial access.
As more women move into digital finance, protecting accounts and personal information will become increasingly important.
What the Trend Means for the Future
The decade-long rise in women’s account ownership is a powerful indicator of changing economic participation across developing economies.
The movement from 50 percent in 2014 to 73 percent in 2024 means that women have made substantial gains in their ability to connect with formal financial systems. At the same time, men’s ownership also increased, reaching 78 percent.
The remaining five-point gender difference shows that financial inclusion has not yet reached complete equality.
Closing that final gap will require more than simply expanding bank branches. Affordable digital connectivity, secure mobile services, accessible identification systems, financial education and products designed around women’s economic needs could all play a role.
The broader lesson from the Global Findex data is clear: financial inclusion is advancing rapidly, and women are participating in that transformation at an impressive pace. But ensuring that every woman can not only own an account but also use it safely and productively will be the next major challenge.
The World Bank’s latest data therefore present a story of considerable progress—but also a reminder that equal access to financial opportunity remains an unfinished global development goal.
