India was ranked 12th among 26 developing countries on financial inclusion, according to an August 2017 report by The Brookings Institution, a US public-policy think tank, down from 9th in 2015 (the first year when the study covered 21 countries).

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Source: The Brookings Institution

Note: Top 5 countries by overall score and India.

The ranking assessed countries on 33 indicators across four areas of access to financial services between June 2016 and May 2017: country commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment, and the adoption of traditional and digital financial services.

The countries were chosen on two criteria: they have "committed to improving financial access and usage, and collectively they represent a diverse range of geographies, cultures, and political and economic systems", according to the first report in 2015.

Kenya has topped the ranking every year since 2015.

Source: The Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project reports of 2015, 2016 and 2017 Note: In 2015, 21 countries were considered; 26 since 2016

With a score of 100% on country commitment, India is on the top with Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, The Philippines and Uganda in 2017.

With a score of 94% on mobile capacity, India tops along with Uganda, Pakistan, Chile and Turkey.

With a score of 83% on regulatory environment, India was ranked 12th among 26 countries.

In 2017, India increased its overall and regulatory environment scores by one and six percentage points, respectively, from 2016.

(Vivek is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Vipul Vivek