South Sudan Financial Statistics Concerning Remittance, Financial Literacy,

and Fintech Access.

1. South Sudan Bank Accounts only accounts to 6% of population

Accounts are a safe way to store money and build savings for the future. They also make it
easier to pay bills, access credit, make purchases, and send or receive remittances. Around
76 percent of people worldwide have an account either at a bank or similarly regulated
deposit-taking financial institution, including a mobile money service provider. Yet a regional
or economy-level view of account ownership shows wide variation (map 1.1.1). Among the
123 surveyed economies, account ownership ranges from just 6 percent in South Sudan to
universal ownership in high-income economies such as Canada, Germany, and the United
Kingdom.

(Page 16, Account ownership 1.1)

The data also show significant differences in account ownership rates across economies in
the same income group (figure 1.1.1). For example, among low-income economies account
ownership varies from 6 percent in South Sudan to 66 percent in Uganda. Among high-
income economies, Uruguay has the lowest account ownership rate, at 74 percent, and 10
high-income economies have 100 percent account ownership. Thailand boasts the highest
account ownership rate among upper-middle-income economies, at 96 percent. And in
lower middle-income economies, account ownership ranges from 21 percent in Pakistan to
98 percent in Mongolia.15

Source: Data (worldbank.org) Primary Source

2. South Sudan has the highest remittance fee in East and Horn of Africa Region

Remittances contribute to 6.7% of South Sudan's GDP, despite the fact that transaction costs
to send remittances to South Sudan can be as high as 9.66% (the highest in the East and
Horn of African Region).

Source: Remittances and Diaspora Engagement in South Sudan | Migration for development
(migration4development.org) Secondary Source

The average transaction cost of sending remittances from abroad to South Sudan in 2017
was 9.6 per cent. The costs applied by informal domestic transfer systems vary among
operators, with fees ranging from 2 per cent to 5 per cent of the total transaction, normally
charged to the sender.

https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/Remittances-and-Diaspora-Engagement-in-
South-Sudan_0.pdf (Page 27, 2.5.2) Secondary Source
3. Financial Literacy is low in South Sudan

Financial literacy is low in South Sudan, as people have limited knowledge of financial
services
Half of the population indicate that they have never heard of insurance or loans services and
a third report of having never heard of savings services. Financial literacy is equally low
across age groups and types of residence (rural, urban, PoC site). However, there are large
differences across gender, literacy levels, and counties. Men tend to be more informed of
the existence of different financial services. Predictably, literate people also have higher
levels of financial literacy. Finally, there is geographical divide, such that half of the surveyed
population in urban Juba (47 percent) knows about digital payments, against 16 percent of
the population in urban Malakal, where fewer financial institutions are present. This
highlights the large role that both literacy and proximity to services play in financial literacy.

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 9, 4.2: 31) Primary Source

4. Financial Inclusion is low in South Sudan

Current levels of financial inclusion in South Sudan are extremely low, with significant gap
between rural and urban areas. A majority of the population (59 percent) does not feel
financially included29 and has unmet financial needs. Further, financial inclusion level is
significantly lower in rural areas, with 65 percent of rural residents perceiving themselves as
not being financially included, compared to 48 percent of urban residents. In fact, the urban
poor are likely to be the most financially included among the four vulnerable groups because
they live in urban areas. As expected, prevalence of financial inclusion is significantly higher
among literate respondents and for those who attended university. Gender does not seem
to be a driver of financial inclusion.

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 9, 4.2: 33) Primary Source
5. 13% of South Sudanese owns a bank account

Access to formal financial services, such as banking, is extremely limited. Only 13 percent of
the population owns a bank account, mainly comprising of literate males from urban areas.
Literacy, gender, and type of residence are the main drivers of bank account ownership,
playing a more prominent role than income. Reported barriers to access to bank services are
numerous. Some relate to distance and affordability (banks are too far away or too
expensive), but for a significant share of respondents, banks are also perceived to be not
useful, as 36 percent say that they do not have the resources to use financial institutions,
and 22 percent reported not needing financial services at a formal institution. This likely
reflects a lack of understanding of the benefits individuals could reap from formal financial
services.

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 9, 4.2: 35) Primary Source

6. There is a high demand for mobile money in South Sudan

The research revealed high demand for mobile money, both from humanitarian and
development partners, and from the general population. Over the past decade,
humanitarian and development partners have increasingly started providing cash to
beneficiaries to address vulnerabilities. Cash assistance presents several advantages to
beneficiaries, including (i) choice; (ii) lower costs; (iii) dignity and empowerment; and (iv)
multiplier effects for local economies and trade, as it increases demand for markets

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 16, 6: 64) Primary Source
7. Low financial literacy results in low mobile money service adoption in South Sudan

High rates of general and financial illiteracy are also likely to impede the broad adoption of
mobile money services. However, despite the pervasive illiteracy, only a quarter of the
respondents thought that illiteracy can be a significant barrier for the uptake of mobile
money services. This barrier is felt as most severe by groups with higher illiteracy rate,
namely women (30 percent of women see literacy as a main barrier versus 19 percent of
men) and rural residents (28 percent of rural residents see literacy as a main barrier versus
13 percent of urban residents). The literature supports this relative optimism, as other
countries with extremely low literacy rates, e.g. Somalia, have managed to develop a vibrant
mobile money ecosystem.

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 22, 8: 92) Primary Source

8. South Sudan has low population that saves and borrows money

Only a minority of the population saves money. As few as 39 percent of those surveyed
saves. Of those who do save, a large proportion uses it to cover basic expenses in times of
hardships and/or emergencies. For few, savings is also used to invest in physical capital or in
human capital. The methods to save are also informal: people mostly save by keeping cash
in a safe place or by buying livestock. A majority do not save because they do not have
money to do so. Additionally, they do not see the need to save. Again, this suggests that
financial behaviors are constrained both by an absence of financial resources, and low
financial literacy levels that prevent people from appreciating the longer-term benefits of
saving.

Borrowing practices are even scarcer than saving practices. Only 24 percent of the surveyed
population borrowed money over the past twelve months. Borrowing is mostly used to
cover for basic expenses, such as food, and to cover for health expenses. It is therefore a
way to tackle hardships, rather than a way to jumpstart or maintain new businesses or
sustainable livelihoods. Loans are predominantly informal and obtained from friends, family
or relatives (for 63 percent of those who borrowed). Qualitative evidence also suggests that
local shops play a role in providing loans and developing in-built social networks that act as
informal safety nets by selling food on credit or opening tabs, in case of need.

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 11, 4.2: 39-40) Primary
Source
9. Bank in South Sudan provides low quality of services and does not meet the need
of the surveyed population
There seems to some distrust towards formal financial service providers contributed by low
financial literacy and lack of access to formal financial services. According to a fifth of the
surveyed, banks do not meet their needs, do not provide services of quality and are not
trustworthy. While there is no clear pattern across genders or age groups, this
dissatisfaction increases for rural residents and in certain counties. In Pibor, 9 people out of
10 surveyed consider that banks do not meet their needs, do not provide services of quality,
and are not trustworthy.

Source: Mobile-Money-Ecosystem-Survey-in-South-Sudan-Exploring-the-Current-and-
Future-Potential-of-Using-Mobile-Money-for-Effective-Humanitarian-and-Development-
Cash-Programming-Executive-Summary.pdf (worldbank.org) (Page 11, 4.2: 41) Primary
Source

10. Low Bank Performance in South Sudan/ Majority of bank in South Sudan are in loss
Abstract of the Study

Commercial banks in South Sudan have shown deteriorating financial performance in the
period 2017 to 2021. This has been shown by the substantial number of commercial banks
making losses and with the profit-making ones exhibiting fluctuating performance as well as
reducing financial performance levels. For example, only 25% of the commercial banks made
a profit in the year 2021 with the majority making losses. Further, the sector has made losses
for the last five years. For example, Liberty Commercial Bank recorded a decline in ROA
from 0.58 in 2018 to 0.53 in 2019 and a further decline to 0.51 in the year 2020. If nothing is
done to improve South Sudan's commercial banks' financial performance, then the
contribution of the banks to the country’s welfare will be watered down. The primary aim of
this study was to determine the effect of liquidity adequacy and the financial performance of
commercial banks in South Sudan. An explanatory research design was used in the study.
The target populace was commercial banks in South Sudan. 29 commercial banks existed in
South Sudan between 2017 and 2021. The study used purposive sampling to sample 23
banks that were in operation between 2017 and 2021. Secondary information was used in
the study. For analysis, the obtained information was cleaned and imported into STATA 17.
Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were conducted. The inferential statistics used
were correlation and regression. The outcomes further showed that the mean of liquidity
adequacy from 2017 to 2021 for the commercial banks in South Sudan was 3.178, with the
least liquidity adequacy being -0.068 and the most being 64.297. Trend outcomes were clear
that liquidity adequacy was increasing amongst South Sudan commercial banks. Regression
outcomes were clear that operational adequacy was positive and significantly impacted by
the performance. The study notes that though liquid assets attract some returns to
commercial banks, too much of it depletes the profitability level of banks. Because highly
liquid assets are linked to lower returns than riskier assets, the study advises banks to avoid
keeping excessive amounts of liquid assets. Therefore, owning too many liquid assets has a
greater opportunity cost than benefit. Consequently, it is advised to have the ideal ratio of
liquid assets to total assets. Furthermore, during times of weak economic conditions, the
report advises banks to keep a greater proportion of liquid assets. Therefore, it is advised
that bank management provide liquidity management with the necessary consideration.
Statistics from the study

(Page 27, 4.1)

Incosistent returns based on Return on Assets ratio

Source: World Economic Outlook (October 2023) - Inflation rate, average consumer prices
(imf.org) Primary Source

12. 82% or 9.1 million of South Sudanese are below the National Poverty Line
13. 67.3 or 7.5 million South Sudanese are below the International Poverty Line

Global_POVEQ_SSD.pdf (worldbank.org) Primary Source

14. Nearly 1.29 million or 12% of South Sudanese are unemployed/Unemployment rate in
South Sudan is at 12%

South Sudan Unemployment Rate (tradingeconomics.com) Secondary Source

15. SME in South Sudan makes up at 93%/Empowering SME through PESABASE app or PESA
bank will boost the economy

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the heart of South Sudan’s economy,
making up around 93% of all registered businesses. Since independence in 2011, these firms
have faced tumultuous times. Internal conflict has prevented the creation of a stable
business environment. With more than two-thirds of the population in need of humanitarian
assistance and around two-thirds facing severe food insecurity, businesses are struggling to
move beyond subsistence agriculture and low-value manufacturing and service activities.

Source: promotingsmecompetitivenessinsouthsudanpdf (intracen.org) (Page 2, Paragraph 1)