A new report titled the Youth Finance Monitor 2026, conducted by the economic intelligence agency Schufa Holding and reported on by the Frankfurter Rundschau, reveals that young people and young adults are increasingly pessimistic about their future opportunities for advancement.
According to the survey, only 40 percent of those aged 16 to 25 in Germany believe they can achieve a life standard that is equal to or even higher than that of the generation preceding them. This is a significant drop from 72 percent in this age group in 2018.
The opinion research institute Forsa conducted the survey in June and July, interviewing 1,010 young people between the ages of 16 and 25. Regarding career prospects, the younger generation is also pessimistic; only 52 percent believe they will have a good and secure job in the future, a figure that was 71 percent in 2018.
On a more positive note, the youth generation rates their current financial situation predominantly well. 68 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with their finances, and 82 percent estimate that they manage their money well or very well. Regarding income, 39 percent of those aged 16 to 17 have less than 100 Euros available per month. Young people who are employed report earning an average of 1,332 Euros.
The issue of money is becoming more prevalent in school curricula, the findings indicate. Nearly half of those aged 16 to 17 (46 percent) have already encountered financial topics in class, marking a nine-percentage-point increase from the previous year.Among those aged 18 to 21, 29 percent know financial topics from school, and 28 percent of those aged 22 to 25 do. Alarmingly, 92 percent of young people between 16 and 25 wish for financial and economic topics to be taught in greater detail in school. Tanja Birkholz, CEO of Schufa, commented to the Frankfurter Rundschau: “Financial literacy is an important key to participation. The fact that more and more young people are encountering financial topics in school is an important and encouraging development.”
However, Carmela Aprea, an economic education specialist and member of the Schufa Consumer Advisory Board, noted that little has changed in curricula over the past few years. She added, “At the same time, the awareness of the importance of financial education has grown, including among teachers who are utilizing existing flexibility within the curricula.” Internationally, Germany lags behind in this area. In 2023, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Education launched a corresponding educational initiative-the last of the G20 nations to do so. Nevertheless, plans for a national financial education strategy have not yet been fully implemented.
