The Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Report shows that the financial literacy rates vary widely across the European Union. On average, 52% of adults are financially literate, and the understanding of financial concepts is the highest in northern Europe.

The Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey is the world’s largest, most comprehensive global measurement of financial literacy. It probes knowledge of four basic financial concepts: risk diversification, inflation, numeracy, and interest compounding. The survey is based on interviews with more than 150,000 adults in over 140 countries.

Looking at the European Union countries level of financial literary results it is visible an unbalanced level of financial literary. The rates vary a lot and despite a positive average result of 52%, the northern countries do lead, especially Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, where at least 65% of their adults are financially literate. The rates are much lower in southern Europe, as for example in Greece and Spain, where the literacy rates are 45% and 49% respectively. Italy, Cyprus and Portugal have some of the lowest literacy rates in the south, while Romania, with 22% financial literacy, has the lowest rate in the European Union.

Read the full report here.