Living Standards

Financial exclusion often goes hand-in-hand with poor living standards. FINCA's borrowers in Africa struggle the most to have a decent quality of life. Over half live in homes without access to clean water, and a third are without electricity.

These problems are not isolated to Africa, however. Our surveys show that access to water, in particular, is a problem that affects clients in every region. Also, nearly a third of FINCA clients live in a household whose main earner has only a primary education or less. This problem is especially severe in Africa and MESA.

Living Standards Data

Global

Africa

Eurasia

Latin America

MESA

Africa

All Africa

DRC

Malawi

Nigeria

Tanzania

Uganda

Zambia

Eurasia

All Eurasia

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan

Latin America

All Latin America

Ecuador

Guatemala

Haiti

Honduras

Nicaragua

MESA

All MESA

Afghanistan

Jordan

Pakistan

13,707 55% Client homes without water Clean water sources have been damaged or destroyed by years of war. Despite government action in this area, many communities rely on wells, rivers, streams, and water tanks when available. % #

2,492 10% Client homes without electricity % #

22,430 90% Client homes without access to Internet % #

3,738 15% Clients who don’t own their home % #

17,646 71% Head of household with primary education or less The educational profile of FINCA’s borrowers in Afghanistan is very low. Less than a third (29%) have attained at least a secondary school education. This partly reflects the devastation of the educational system by three decades of conflict in the country. % #

134,186 49% Client homes without water % #

96,244 35% Client homes without electricity % #

174,470 64% Client homes without access to Internet % #

108,912 40% Clients who don’t own their home The rate of clients who don't own their own home is more than twice the global average (17%). % #

110,867 40% Head of household with primary education or less % #

6,659 16% Client homes without water % #

0 0% Client homes without electricity % #

12,070 29% Client homes without access to Internet Internet access in Armenia has been improving over the past few years, and is actually higher in Armenia than in the region overall. % #

1,249 3% Clients who don’t own their home % #

0 0% Head of household with primary education or less % #

18,672 28% Client homes without water In the capital, Baku, the water problem boils down to one of quantity, while in other parts of the country, it is one of poor quality. % #

0 0% Client homes without electricity % #

38,678 58% Client homes without access to Internet Internet service in Azerbaijan is expanding, but slowly and at high cost. % #

667 1% Clients who don’t own their home % #

1,970 3% Head of household with primary education or less % #

47,855 46% Client homes without water The DR Congo, Africa’s most “water-rich” country, is facing an acute water supply crisis with considerable social and public health consequences. Nearly half (46%) of FINCA’s borrowers lack access to safe drinking water. % #

16,645 16% Client homes without electricity % #

49,936 48% Client homes without access to Internet % #

54,097 52% Clients who don’t own their home % #

11,283 11% Head of household with primary education or less Among FINCA borrowers, 89% live in a household headed by someone with greater than primary education. % #

1,133 8% Client homes without water % #

0 0% Client homes without electricity % #

2,832 20% Client homes without access to Internet % #

1,699 12% Clients who don’t own their home % #

5,323 38% Head of household with primary education or less % #

49,635 17% Client homes without water % #

1,536 1% Client homes without electricity % #

164,637 55% Client homes without access to Internet % #

9,589 3% Clients who don’t own their home % #

9,666 3% Head of household with primary education or less % #

262,553 29% Client homes without water Although the percentage is highest in Africa, every FINCA region has clients who lack this basic service, including places like Tajikistan, Honduras and Afghanistan. % #

112,640 12% Client homes without electricity Outside of Africa, Honduras has the highest percentage of borrowers who lack electricity in their homes. % #

501,821 55% Client homes without access to Internet % #

145,154 16% Clients who don’t own their home % #

261,047 29% Head of household with primary education or less The lack of education is particularly notable in Latin America, where over 54% of FINCA borrowers live in households headed by someone with a primary education or less. Other regions are not far behind, especially MESA (46%) and Africa (41%). % #

8,579 18% Client homes without water Rural people struggle to obtain safe drinking water, relying mainly on local wells or springs. % #

0 0% Client homes without electricity % #

19,065 40% Client homes without access to Internet % #

1,430 3% Clients who don’t own their home Many Georgians need to improve or expand their dwellings, especially those that are accommodating multiple generations under one roof, which is common in rural areas. % #

1,319 3% Head of household with primary education or less % #

4,525 15% Client homes without water % #

3,017 10% Client homes without electricity % #

12,670 42% Client homes without access to Internet % #

4,525 15% Clients who don’t own their home % #

23,198 77% Head of household with primary education or less This is the second-highest percentage in the world, just after Afghanistan. % #

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Haiti.

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7,479 30% Client homes without water % #

6,731 27% Client homes without electricity % #

12,714 51% Client homes without access to Internet % #

3,490 14% Clients who don’t own their home % #

17,043 68% Head of household with primary education or less % #

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Jordan.

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1,888 13% Client homes without water Water quality is a common problem for rural households, which often rely on domestic wells with inadequate sanitation systems. % #

0 0% Client homes without electricity % #

2,904 20% Client homes without access to Internet % #

290 2% Clients who don’t own their home % #

3,964 27% Head of household with primary education or less This is 10x the regional average. Lower levels of education are especially common among women. % #

1,904 2% Client homes without water Although the population’s access to safe drinking water improved significantly during last decade, there are huge disparities among regions in the country. Nonetheless, only 2% of FINCA’s borrowers live in homes without running water. % #

952 1% Client homes without electricity % #

69,478 73% Client homes without access to Internet This is about 20 percentage points higher than in the overall region (55%). % #

4,759 5% Clients who don’t own their home % #

880 1% Head of household with primary education or less % #

20,058 13% Client homes without water % #

11,046 7% Client homes without electricity % #

46,385 30% Client homes without access to Internet % #

11,012 7% Clients who don’t own their home % #

69,697 46% Head of household with primary education or less % #

23,647 53% Client homes without water % #

23,647 53% Client homes without electricity More clients lack electricity in Malawi than anywhere else in the region. % #

29,893 67% Client homes without access to Internet High taxes and poor infrastructure, among other obstacles, make access to the Internet prohibitively expensive, % #

13,831 31% Clients who don’t own their home % #

23,424 53% Head of household with primary education or less % #

58,673 32% Client homes without water % #

3,815 2% Client homes without electricity % #

116,329 63% Client homes without access to Internet % #

15,641 8% Clients who don’t own their home % #

70,817 38% Head of household with primary education or less The educational level of our clients' households is likely to drop even further as we expand deeper into rural areas. % #

6,922 16% Client homes without water Similar to the regional average. % #

1,298 3% Client homes without electricity Two times less than the regional average, reflecting FINCA Nicaragua's concentration in more urban areas. % #

18,170 42% Client homes without access to Internet % #

1,298 3% Clients who don’t own their home The rate of home ownership in Nicaragua is the highest outside of Eurasia. % #

24,133 56% Head of household with primary education or less While somewhat better than the regional average, this indicator is very high by global standards. % #

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Nigeria.

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44,966 34% Client homes without water Urbanization is putting even more strain on the water resources, especially in the rapidly-growing cities. % #

1,323 1% Client homes without electricity % #

93,899 71% Client homes without access to Internet Internet penetration is very limited and expensive throughout Pakistan. % #

11,903 9% Clients who don’t own their home While most FINCA clients own their homes, the urban housing situation in Pakistan is under pressure from rural-urban migration and rapid population growth. % #

53,171 40% Head of household with primary education or less % #

11,682 40% Client homes without water % #

584 2% Client homes without electricity % #

21,904 75% Client homes without access to Internet This is 20 percentage points higher the regional average. Internet penetration is constrained by a limited reach of the telcom sector, the high cost of access, and widespread poverty. % #

584 2% Clients who don’t own their home % #

1,519 5% Head of household with primary education or less % #

28,377 55% Client homes without water % #

25,798 50% Client homes without electricity % #

41,276 80% Client homes without access to Internet % #

18,884 37% Clients who don’t own their home % #

39,957 77% Head of household with primary education or less The educational levels in Tanzania are much lower than in the other African countries. % #

24,992 50% Client homes without water In addition to the health risks from contaminated sources, the lack of running water imposes a physical burden on family members -- often children -- who are required to collect and transport it back to the house. % #

25,592 51% Client homes without electricity The electrical grid in Uganda is extremely limited and poorly maintained. % #

39,487 79% Client homes without access to Internet % #

14,495 29% Clients who don’t own their home This indicator is high throughout Africa. % #

27,991 56% Head of household with primary education or less Only Tanzania has a higher incidence of household heads who have a primary education or less. % #

9,315 49% Client homes without water % #

4,562 24% Client homes without electricity This is somewhat better than the rural conditions in neighboring countries, but not as good as DRC, whose clientele is primarily urban, like Zambia's. % #

13,877 73% Client homes without access to Internet % #

7,604 40% Clients who don’t own their home % #

8,212 43% Head of household with primary education or less % #

Living Standards

Living Standards Data

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© 2016 FINCA International

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