Belgium's high private wealth despite economic slowdown;
✔ Boasting a median wealth of $249,040 per adult, Belgium clinches a top spot, outpacing Australia and Hong Kong
✔ Global household wealth receded by 2.4% in 2022, marking the first decline since the 2008 crisis
✔ Global wealth is set to rebound, projected to grow by 38% by 2027, with a significant boost from middle-income nations
Belgium has overtaken Australia in the world rankings of median average wealth per adult. Globally, household wealth contracted in 2022 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.
During 2022, total net private wealth fell by 2.4% or $11.3 trillion to $454.4 trillion, Credit Suisse and UBS wrote on Tuesday in their annual World Wealth Report, which analyses the household wealth of 5.4 billion people across the globe.
This marked the first such decrease since 2008, which can mostly be explained by the weakening of many currencies against the dollar, the poor performance of financial investments and skyrocketing inflation. Wealth per adult fell by 3.6% to $84,718.
However, Belgium fared relatively well last year when it came to wealth per adult. In terms of median wealth, Belgium takes first place with $249,040 (€228,594) per adult, Credit Suisse and UBS wrote noted. This places the country ahead of Australia and Hong Kong.
This means that half of Belgians have more than this amount in wealth assets and the other half less.
The opening of the first Belgian Apple Store, in Brussels, Saturday 19 September 2015. Credit: Belga
In contrast to the average global wealth per adult, the median global wealth per adult grew by 3% in 2022. "Ranking markets by median wealth per adult favours markets with lower levels of wealth inequality and results in a different list," the companies explained. Here, countries like the United States, Sweden and Germany rank lower.
In contrast, Switzerland remains at the top of the world rankings in terms of average wealth per adult, with $685,230 dollars per person. Despite this figure dropping by $13.450 since 2021 (-1.9%), it is still much ahead of the United States and Hong Kong.
Positive outlook
Overall, the loss of global wealth was heavily concentrated in wealthier regions such as North America and Europe, which together shed USD 10.9 trillion. The loss of wealth was particularly marked in North America and Europe (-$10,900 billion) and more moderate in the Asia-Pacific region (-$2,100 billion).
On the other hand, the trend was positive in Latin America (+$2,400 billion), thanks to the appreciation of currencies against the dollar. The largest wealth increases were recorded for Russia, Mexico, India and Brazil.
While an overall loss of global household wealth was recorded, non-financial investments, consisting mainly of real estate, held up much better, despite the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, among others, raising interest rates.
However, economists remain positive, and project that global wealth will grow by 38% over the next five years, reaching $629,000 billion by 2027. By then, the average wealth per adult is expected to reach $110,270. "Growth by middle-income countries will be the primary driver of global trends." The number of millionaires is expected to reach 86 million over this period.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the median wealth of Belgians was €229.950. The actual figure is in the hundreds of thousands.
