EU citizens are not doing well when it comes to financial literacy. Nearly half lack an understanding of basic financial concepts, including inflation.

EU citizens are not doing well when it comes to financial literacy. Nearly half lack an understanding of basic financial concepts, including inflation.

A third of Europeans do not understand how inflation works, according to a survey by Eurobarometer. The same survey revealed only 18% of EU citizens were able to show a high level of financial literary.

According to the survey, 65% of EU citizens are aware that, in times of positive inflation, the purchasing power of their money decreases, meaning they can buy less than they could before with the same amount of money.

Lack of knowledge about inflation could be seen as concerning

In October 2022, the annual inflation in the EU reached levels not seen before in the previous four decades at 11.5%. While the rising cost of living was the most pressing worry for 93% of Europeans at that time, apparently a third of EU citizens do not know how inflation affects their lives.

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The best performers were the Netherlands (43%), Denmark (40%), Finland (40%) and Estonia (39%) where about four in 10 respondents display a high level of financial knowledge.

Romania and Portugal reported the worst scores in high levels of financial knowledge at 13% and 16%, respectively.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    1•7 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The best performers were the Netherlands (43%), Denmark (40%), Finland (40%) and Estonia (39%) where about four in 10 respondents display a high level of financial knowledge.

    While the scores of France and Italy were slightly below the EU average, this figure was noticeably low in Spain at 19%.

    Proportion answering this question correctly (“Less than you could buy today”) was below 60% in Cyprus, Portugal, Greece, Romania, and Italy whereas Finland and Estonia had the highest share at 84%.

    The proportion with a high score varied between from 11% in Portugal and Latvia to 27% in Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden, and 28% in the Netherlands.

    To illustrate, when participants were asked whether they keep track and monitor their expenses, only 16% in Finland replied, “completely agree”.

    The EU is working to ensure that its citizens have the knowledge and skills they need to make good financial decisions.

    The original article contains 872 words, the summary contains 148 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!