ST. PETERSBURG, June 10 (RIA Novosti, Maxim Nichiporenko) - One of Russia's initiatives during the country's presidency of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations is to improve the level of the population's financial literacy, the Russian finance minister said Saturday.

Russia this year holds the rotating presidency of the G8 - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - and will host the annual G8 summit for the first time in mid-July in St. Petersburg.

Alexei Kudrin said financial literacy among populations was needed for countries' financial and other institutions to operate successfully.

"74% of the population said they were more afraid to fill a customs declaration and work with other financial documents than to go to the dentist," he said.

Kudrin also cited the United States as an example of a country where 80% of the population were unable to fill in pension documents. "Not everyone is able to work independently with documents that ensure their future welfare," he concluded.