As residents of a prosperous developed nation at the heart of Europe, life is pretty good for people living in Belgium – a fact easily overshadowed by complications in our daily affairs but that becomes very evident when put in the perspective of global rankings.
Yet whilst Belgium as a nation boasts many services and institutions that other countries could only dream of, the personal fortune of individuals resident here is more obscure, tied up in the savings, debts, and assets that we accumulate throughout our lives. Simply calculating one's own worth would require various valuations and estimations that aren't immediately at our fingertips.
But this doesn't stop UBS from compiling a global wealth report each year in an exercise that analyses around 5.4 billion people. The sheer effort is quite a marvel in itself, rendered all the more interesting by the results which rank Belgium as having the highest median wealth per person.
How much? anyone who hasn't read the piece will ask. €228,594. The figure may well lead you to question whether that can be right: if you are young it is highly unlikely that you could scrape together anything close to this without selling vital bodily organs.
But unlike average wealth – or even more different average salary – median means that exactly half of the population will have a personal wealth greater than this, and the other half less. Homeowners will most probably be on the wealthier side, especially if they have owned their property long enough for it to have appreciated in value.
To a great extent, the findings are dependent on the demographics of a nation and the state provision of healthcare, childcare, and other essential services that we come to take for granted but would be much poorer without.
Economists have been quick to highlight shortcomings of the report, noting that it doesn't factor in national assets. Norway for example, which has the largest sovereign wealth fund, would have a per capita wealth of over €1 million if this were counted. In short, the financial security of individuals goes hand in hand with national assets, which numerous international institutions have warned needs urgent attention.
Is this the land of plenty? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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