China’s Financial Literacy is Lower Among Rural Households, Study Finds

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2026 — China’s expanding financial markets have given households access to a wider range of financial products and services, while income inequality has left some groups more exposed to financial hardship. A 2019 review by Minchao Jin of NYU Silver School of Social Work and Yiqing Yuan of East China University of Science and Technology found gaps in research on financial literacy in China.

The authors found that financial literacy research in China was still relatively new compared with research in developed countries. Their review also found that economically vulnerable groups, particularly rural residents, had received limited attention and that measures created in other countries did not always fit China’s financial system.

Financial Literacy Remains Low Among Rural Residents

One national dataset reviewed in the paper showed low scores on basic financial-literacy questions. The 2013 China Household Financial Study used questions covering interest calculations, inflation, and investment diversification. Participants answered an average of 0.6 questions correctly, while only 1.65% answered all three correctly and 73.6% failed to answer at least one correctly.

The review also found differences between urban and rural residents and reported lower financial literacy among vulnerable populations, including people in rural areas and those with lower educational attainment. The authors noted that rural residents also had less access to banking services than their urban counterparts, adding another dimension to differences in household financial outcomes.

Rural Households Receive Limited Attention

The research base itself was uneven. Of the 50 articles examined in the review, 38 were empirical studies, but many relied on a small number of datasets. Only five empirical studies examined rural residents, and none used probability sampling to establish a representative rural sample.

The authors also found relatively little research on other vulnerable groups, including low-income households, older adults, people with disabilities and women. Most studies examined urban residents or the population as a whole, leaving questions about financial literacy among groups facing greater economic vulnerability less fully examined.

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Imported Measures May Miss China’s Context

Jin and Yuan also questioned the use of financial-literacy measures created in developed economies without adjustment for Chinese circumstances. The widely used questions on compound interest, inflation and investment diversification, for example, were created in a U.S. research setting and reflected financial decisions that may not be directly comparable with those faced by Chinese households.

Pension arrangements were one example cited by the authors. In China, parts of retirement provision are managed through public systems rather than being left entirely to individual financial decisions. The researchers therefore argued that financial literacy should be measured in ways that reflect China’s own financial institutions, products and household circumstances.

Social Work Could Expand Research

The review found that social work had been largely absent from financial-literacy research in China, even though the field regularly works with populations that received limited attention in existing studies. The authors argued that social-work researchers could help examine financial literacy among disadvantaged groups and connect financial knowledge with financial access, financial functioning and financial wellbeing.

The paper also identified a lack of intervention and prevention research in China’s financial-literacy literature. Jin and Yuan pointed to methods such as randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental research and mixed-method studies as ways to generate evidence about financial education and related interventions. They also noted that social work programs in China were beginning to introduce financial social work into university curricula, while calling for research and training adapted to Chinese circumstances.

The authors ultimately argued that financial-literacy research in China needs more attention to vulnerable populations, locally appropriate measures, and research that connects academic findings with practice. Their review presents financial literacy not only as a matter of financial knowledge but also as an issue shaped by access to financial services and the circumstances facing households.