| Summary: | The little data book on financial inclusion 2012 is a pocket edition of the global financial inclusion database published in 2012. The book also includes summary pages by region and by income group aggregates. Covering 148 economies, the indicators of financial inclusion measure the use of formal bank accounts, payments behavior, savings patterns, credit patterns, and insurance decisions. Access to financial services plays a critical part in development by facilitating economic growth and reducing income inequality. Inclusive financial systems allow poor people to smooth their consumption and insure themselves against economic vulnerabilities, from illness and accidents to theft and unemployment. Financial access enables poor people to save and to borrow-allowing them to build their assets, to invest in education and entrepreneurial ventures, and thus to improve their livelihoods. Inclusive finance is especially likely to benefit disadvantaged groups such as women, youth, and rural communities. For all these reasons financial inclusion has gained prominence in recent years as a policy objective to improve the lives of the poor. The little data book on financial inclusion 2012 is a part of the global findex suite of products offering access to the data.
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