Key Takeaways
- Over-indebtedness affects 10% of microborrowers globally
- Portfolio at Risk >30 days averages 4.2% in MFIs 2022
- 25% of MFIs reported increased default rates post-COVID
- Microcredit lifted 10.7% of borrowers out of poverty between 2000-2022
- Average income of microfinance clients increased by 25% after 2 years of borrowing
- In India, microfinance households saw business income rise 37% post-loan
- Account ownership among women rose 13% due to microfinance in 2021
- 1.4 billion adults unbanked in 2021, microfinance serves 10% of them
- Mobile money accounts grew to 1.6 billion globally, 40% linked to microfinance
- As of 2022, there were 139 million active microfinance borrowers worldwide, representing a 42% increase from 98 million in 2015
- Microfinance institutions (MFIs) served 150 million clients globally in 2021, with 80% being women
- The total gross loan portfolio of MFIs reached $227 billion in 2022, up 12% from the previous year
- Women microborrowers' control over income rose to 60% post-loan
- 95% of Grameen Bank borrowers are women, leading to better child nutrition
- Microfinance increased girls' schooling by 1.5 years in India
Microfinance reaches 139 million borrowers globally, boosting income and consumption while managing rising risk and defaults.
Related reading
01 · Category
Challenges21 stats
Challenges Interpretation
02 · Category
Economic Impact27 stats
Economic Impact Interpretation
03 · Category
Financial Inclusion21 stats
Financial Inclusion Interpretation
More related reading
04 · Category
Scale And Reach30 stats
Scale And Reach Interpretation
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
Thomas Lindqvist. (2026, February 13). Microfinance Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/microfinance-statistics
Thomas Lindqvist. "Microfinance Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/microfinance-statistics.
Thomas Lindqvist. 2026. "Microfinance Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/microfinance-statistics.
Sources & references
54 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level

