Borrowed Any Money (% age 15+) in Grenada

Published 2026-10-16 · 24Peaks Research

Borrowed Any Money (% age 15+) in Grenada

Borrowed Any Money (% age 15+) in Grenada measures the share of adults aged 15 and older who reported borrowing money from a formal financial institution or informal source in the past 12 months. As of the latest available year, Grenada's figure comes from the World Bank Global Findex Database, which surveys adults on how they save, borrow, and manage risk. Borrowing participation in Grenada tends to track income levels, employment patterns, and the strength of the island's credit unions and commercial banks, and 24Peaks hosts the latest series for direct comparison.

What the Indicator Measures

The indicator records the percentage of respondents aged 15 and above who answered yes to borrowing money in the previous year. The World Bank's Global Findex survey asks about several borrowing sources: a bank, a credit union, a microfinance institution, a store through an installment plan, a family member, a friend, or a private lender.

This makes the metric broader than simply "has a bank loan." It captures both formal borrowing, which runs through regulated institutions, and informal borrowing from social networks. In small island economies like Grenada, this distinction matters because informal credit often fills gaps where formal lending is slow, costly, or unavailable.

The indicator is built from nationally representative survey samples, so it is a population estimate rather than a count of loan accounts. A person who borrowed from two sources in the past year is counted once. The survey typically covers adults 15 and older to align with financial inclusion benchmarks used by the World Bank and the IMF.

Why It Matters for Grenada

Borrowing is a core function of a working financial system. When households can borrow, they can smooth consumption during bad months, invest in a small business, pay school fees, or cover medical costs without selling assets.

For a small, tourism-dependent economy like Grenada, access to credit also supports recovery after shocks. Hurricanes and global demand swings can hit household income hard, and borrowing capacity is one buffer. A low borrowing rate may signal that credit is not reaching families, whether because of tight lending standards, weak collateral, or limited financial literacy.

Policymakers at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and the Grenadian government use inclusion data to judge whether financial deepening is happening on the ground. Investors can read borrowing participation as a rough gauge of consumer credit demand, household balance sheet health, and the potential for retail banking growth.

The indicator also has a distributional angle. If borrowing is concentrated among higher-income adults, the rate understates the credit constraints facing poorer households. Comparing Grenada's borrowing rate against its saving and account-ownership rates gives a fuller picture of financial behavior.

Recent Trends by Region

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, borrowing participation has generally risen over the past decade but remains uneven. The World Bank Global Findex shows wide gaps between high-income and lower-income economies, with formal borrowing in many advanced economies far above the levels seen in developing regions.

Within the Caribbean, the pattern splits by country income and institutional depth. Higher-income territories with dense banking networks tend to show broader borrowing participation, partly because payroll-linked lending and credit cards are common. Smaller states with large informal sectors may show lower formal borrowing but higher reliance on family and friends.

Grenada sits in the middle of this landscape. Its credit union sector is unusually strong relative to its size, and credit unions are a major source of household loans. That institutional feature can lift the overall borrowing rate above what a purely bank-based measure would suggest.

Regional gaps also reflect survey timing. Findex rounds occur roughly every three years, so the "latest available year" may lag current conditions, especially after events like the pandemic. Readers should treat the number as a structural snapshot rather than a real-time signal.

Comparison With Other Countries

The table below places Grenada alongside a few illustrative economies. Values are recent survey estimates from the World Bank Global Findex, and the year column shows the survey round. Because Findex rounds are periodic, some values are several years old but remain the most recent comparable data.

Two points stand out. First, borrowing rates correlate with income per capita and banking density across these examples. Second, informal borrowing matters more where formal lending is thin, which can push the total rate up or down depending on how the survey captures it.

For investors, the comparison shows that Grenada's borrowing behavior is closer to middle-income Caribbean norms than to either high-income or low-income extremes. That positioning matters for anyone assessing consumer credit risk or microfinance opportunities in the region.

Limitations of the Data

Several caveats apply. The indicator relies on self-reported survey answers, so recall error and social desirability bias can distort results. Some adults may underreport borrowing, especially informal debt, or overreport because borrowing is seen as normal.

The 12-month recall window is another constraint. It excludes older loans that are still outstanding, which means long-term mortgage debt is only partly captured. A country with many long-term mortgages could show a moderate annual borrowing rate even though many adults hold debt.

Survey coverage varies. Unlike administrative bank data, Findex depends on sample design, translation, and fieldwork quality. Small island states can also face high survey costs, and some rounds may not include every territory.

Definitional differences across countries add noise. What counts as a bank versus a credit union, and whether store credit counts as borrowing, can shift results. This is why comparing levels across countries should be done carefully, while trends within one country are more reliable.

Finally, the indicator says nothing about loan size, interest rates, or repayment stress. Borrowing is not the same as healthy borrowing. A high rate could reflect strong credit access or rising household debt burdens, and only supporting indicators can tell the two apart.

FAQ

What does Borrowed Any Money (% age 15+) mean in Grenada?

It is the share of Grenadian adults aged 15 and older who reported borrowing money from any source in the past 12 months. The World Bank Global Findex survey collects this data. It includes both formal lenders and informal sources like family and friends.

Which year does the latest Grenada figure refer to?

The latest available data refers to the most recent Global Findex survey round, and 24Peaks hosts the current series with its reference year clearly labeled. Because Findex is conducted periodically, the figure may be a few years old. Always confirm the year before drawing conclusions.

Why is borrowing participation important for investors?

It indicates how many households are using credit and how deep the consumer lending market is. Higher participation can support retail banking, credit unions, and microfinance activity. It also signals household leverage and potential repayment risk.

How does Grenada compare with other Caribbean countries?

Grenada generally sits near the middle of the Caribbean range, supported by a strong credit union sector. Higher-income territories like Trinidad and Tobago tend to show more formal borrowing. Lower-income economies with large informal sectors often show less.

Does a higher rate always mean better financial inclusion?

Not necessarily. A high borrowing rate can reflect easy credit access, but it can also reflect household stress and reliance on debt for basic needs. Analysts should pair it with data on savings, income, and loan repayment. Context determines whether the trend is healthy.

Compare Grenada on 24Peaks

Use the 24Peaks workbench to compare Borrowed Any Money (% age 15+) in Grenada against peer countries and track the series across survey years.