Financial education in Austria: only every second person independent!

Financial education in Austria: only every second person independent!

A current study by Bank99 shows a worrying lack of financial education in Austria. Terms such as creditworthiness, key interest rate and inflation are unknown to many citizens. Only around 50% of the population feel financially independent, although 94% of Austrians consider financial independence to be important. This resulted in a survey that was carried out between March 6 and 20, 2025 and interviewed 1,022 people aged 16 and over. Around 28% of the population rely on financial support. Women in particular often depend on external donors, which is due to deep rooted, traditional role models, as the Bank99 study states. This expresses important recommendations to politics and education, since schools in financial education have great uptaking. According to the survey, 60% of the financially dependent persons want to actively get out of this situation.

Surprisingly, 36% of the respondents can only answer half or fewer questions correctly in the event of a basic knowledge test on the subject of financial education. In addition, men often overestimate their financial knowledge, while women tend to underestimate it. Only 39% of the population believe that good financial knowledge improve their financial situation; Nevertheless, people with higher financial knowledge have more control over their finance decisions. For example, 87% of the respondents were able to state with good financial knowledge that they can make their financial decisions more consciously.

The role of gender in financial education

The results also show a clear gender -specific inequality. Men reach 59% financial independence, while women are only 47%. Women who are mothers or live in rural regions are particularly affected because they show greater acceptance for financial dependence. At the same time, younger and older women have a stronger desire for financial self -determination. Against the background, these differences are considered that 28% of women can only cover their basic expenses and have no retirement provision for 42% under 30 years, a problem that is also observed in Germany.

According to a study in Germany, 24% of Germans have a high level of financial competence, but only 6% have in -depth financial knowledge. Despite the still existing challenges, 74% of Austrians report to assess their money management positively, but this does not match the actual knowledge. The need for financial education is immense; 93% of parents demand financial education in their children's curriculum. In Germany, digital financial competence is between 18% with low -qualified and 72% of academics, which also illustrates the different educational opportunities.

recommendations for future steps

In summary, financial education clearly differs between different population groups and genders. Effective measures to improve financial education, such as tax incentives and the introduction of mandatory business courses in schools, are essential. The national financial education strategy, which is to be developed by 2026, aims to achieve all population groups, which is of great importance in both Germany and Austria in order to increase financial security for each individual. If you have any questions about financial topics or information on educational offers, future initiatives such as seal of approval for fintech apps could offer valuable support.

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