There has been considerable focus placed upon financial literacy in America during the year following the Great Recession. The notion among many observers was that too many Americans were unaware of the financial consequences of their decisions, including decisions to take on debt.
A recent international survey indicates that many around the world continue to lack basic financial literacy. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, only about two in five people surveyed across thirty nations knew whether a one hundred dollar savings account compounding at an interest rate of two percent a year would grow to more or less than one hundred and ten dollars over five years.
Only sixty percent of the nearly fifty two thousand respondents prepare any sort of personal budget. Only half establish financial goals and try to achieve them. Among the larger nations participating, France, Finland and Norway were at the top. Brazil, Russia and Poland were at the bottom. Americans did not participate in this survey, but a separate survey conducted two years ago indicates that only about three in five Americans are financially literate.
