Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. The report, which focuses on financial inclusion as a cross-cutting enabler of sustainable development, reveals those inequalities continue to lock millions out of economic opportunity. Women remain among the most excluded, with only 29% having access to bank accounts or mobile money—making the Arab region the worst-performing globally on women’s financial inclusion. The gender gap stands at a staggering 13 percentage points.