Nigeria: Nigerians Turning to Survival Loans As Consumption Borrowing Jumps - Report

What the report says

A new EFInA survey, reported by This Day and distributed by AllAfrica, says more Nigerians are using formal credit to cover daily needs and financial strain than to fund business growth. The 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria survey found that the share of formal borrowers taking loans for coping and consumption rose from 31.7% in 2023 to 40.8% in 2026, while borrowing for productive enterprises fell and loans for household assets also declined.

The report says this shift is happening even as access to formal financial services expands. Formal financial inclusion increased to 73% of adults in 2026, and formal credit rose to 10%, or about 11.9 million adults. But EFInA said access has not translated into broad financial security: only about one in four adults were described as financially healthy, and many borrowers reported repayment stress and wider welfare pressure.

The survey found that rent, housing, medical bills and school fees were among the main reasons people borrowed. It also noted limited emergency savings, low insurance coverage and persistent distress among both included and excluded adults. The findings matter because they suggest that financial inclusion in Nigeria is growing, but often as a coping tool rather than a path to resilience or higher incomes.

The survey covered 18,679 adults across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory between April and June 2026, under National Bureau of Statistics supervision.