Failed in debt and loans: Italy at the bottom of the ranking for financial skills
Only 16.6% reach the score considered acceptable by the OECD. Women, young people and graduates also penalised by international comparison
Key points
Only 17.2% of Italians know how to distinguish between simple and compound interest, which exposes them to get into debt without knowing the mechanisms of credit and the consequences of their choices. This is what emerges from an analysis conducted by Bravo, a fintech company active in debt management, based on OECD/Infe data (International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy, December 2023), which analyses social groups in our country and compares them with the realities of other members of the Paris-based organisation. The survey confirms that in Italy the level of financial education is largely unsatisfactory among our fellow countrymen, placing us at the bottom of the international rankings.
The ranking
The data are merciless: only 16.6 per cent of Italians reach the minimum score of 70 out of 100, considered acceptable by the OECD for informed financial management. This places Italy 36th out of 39 countries worldwide. Germany leads the ranking, with 75.5% of citizens reaching the minimum acceptable score. Better than Italy are also France (38.7%), Spain (39.2%), Estonia (48.4%) and Finland (45.8%), which show percentages of financially competent citizens more than twice as high as Italy.
In addition to knowledge, skills and habits also show accentuated vulnerability: only 35% of Italians demonstrate correct financial behaviour (at least 6 out of 9 virtuous behaviours measured by the OECD), placing Italy 32nd out of 39 countries worldwide. Germany also leads this ranking with 77.5%, followed by Ireland (76.9%), Malta (75.5%) and Indonesia (74%).
Furthermore: only 57% of Italians regularly keep track of their short-term finances. This exposes them to financial scams and frauds: according to Bravo, 9.4% of Italians have fallen victim to these, but only 17.1% of these had skills to defend themselves. Overall, Italy ranks 26th out of 30 for financial preparedness of fraud victims.
Women and Youth
The disadvantage of Italian women is twofold: vis-à-vis men and foreign women. The lack of prominence of Italian women in the management of personal finance sees them penalised in international comparisons: out of 41 countries analysed, Italians rank 38th, well behind the Germans (first), the Spanish (15th) or the French (16th). Similarly, if not worse is the discourse concerning young Italians: 18-29 year olds rank 38th out of 39 countries. Again, it is the young Germans who top the world rankings.
