A survey of Islamic finance literacy among individual investors in the region TR63

The conventional financial systems which have proven their global presence continue to develop rapidly. The fact that individuals play an important role in these systems is essential for both the individual economies and the country's economy in general. Due to respect for the principles of Islamic religion, which is one of a major instruments in economy, many individual investors with their adhearence to Islamic religion and its rulings have not been able to evaluate their savings efficiently and effectively due to the lack of knowledge of alternative methods and practices. On the other hand, Islamic financial systems based on a large number of principles, rules and instruments suitable for Islamic life. However, it is noted in most countries that individuals do not know much about these systems. It is evident that investors should be informed and fully conscious of this issue so the system can continue to develop without any problems. Though, before this awareness, the extent of how much individuals possess the knowledge on issue has to be measured. The analysis of the subject can be easier thus the future study can break new ground. Given the importance of that kind of measurements in our country, in this study we tried to measure the level of Islamic financial literacy of the individual investors in the region that includes Osmaniye, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş provinces which are grouped together as TR63 Region, and discuss some of the demographic characteristics, financial behavior, and attitudes of people. The individual investors who live in TR63 region took part in a research study. The data required for the study were collected from 671 individual investors based on random sampling surveys. The data was analyzed using a statistical methods such as Pearson chi-square, t test, anova, and correlation analysis method. To determine the level of Islamic financial literacy of the individual investors, we used a general evaluation method in accordance with a reporting parties. As a results of the study, the level of Islamic financial literacy of the TR63 Region individual investors was low. Although the results of study show similar results with other studies in this field, and this may be seen as a reliable source in the field of Islamic finance literacy. Key Words: Individual Investors, Finance Literacy, Islamic Finance System, Islamic Finance Literacy, TR63