Estonia's Ministry of Finance has published the OECD-INFE 2026 financial literacy survey showing that Estonian residents' financial literacy improved over the past three years across all six measured dimensions. On a comparable basis, the overall score rose from 68 percent to 70 percent, with the largest change in attitudes as more people prioritized saving and longer-term planning. The ministry said the findings point to improving investment knowledge and reducing social inequalities in financial literacy as the next priorities. Attitudes improved by 7 percentage points, the economic wellbeing indicator rose from 43 percent to 46 percent, and digital financial literacy increased from 59 percent to 63 percent. Basic knowledge remained strong, with 90 percent of respondents understanding the effects of inflation and interest rates, but only 14 percent correctly identified the relationship between bonds and interest rates. The survey also found pronounced gaps by income and education, with knowledge scores of 81 percent among higher-income respondents versus 62 percent in lower-income households, and up to a 15 percentage point advantage for those with higher education. Men scored higher than women on knowledge, at 85 percent versus 74 percent, while money-related behaviour and attitudes were broadly similar. The survey was commissioned by the ministry, coordinated by Tallinn University of Technology and conducted by Kantar Emor in March to April 2026 among 1,004 respondents aged 18 to 79 in Estonian and Russian. Because OECD-INFE updated its methodology for 2026, the same methodology was also applied to the 2023 data to preserve comparability.

Original source View in tracker