Credit

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Wealth
of nations
Countries differ greatly in the levels and pattern of
wealth holdings. The following pages provide a picture of
the variety of country circumstances and the range of
experiences.

While data quality is good in the rich countries that have most of the world’s wealth, when we
look more broadly, quality isfar from uniform. On the following pages, we highlight some of
the most interesting countries. All of these have data on mean household wealth and
evidence on the distribution of wealth across the population.
Data quality is rated as no worse than “fair,” meaning that there is at least a recent household
survey on wealth. In most of the selected countries quality is “good,” meaning that thereis an
official household sector balance sheet as well as an acceptable way to estimate wealth
distribution. A “satisfactory” rating is given when the data are good but somewhat out of date.
The accompanying charts summarize some of the most important facts, giving wealth values
on a per adult basis and mainly in terms of US dollars (using official exchange rates).The first
chart showschanges in mean wealth over 2000–11. Since exchange-rate fluctuations can
alter the apparent trend, for each country, we provide an alternative series using its average
USD exchange rate over the twelve years. A typical pattern is a mild decline in mean wealth
from 2000 to 2002, an increase to 2006 or 2007, a drop in 2008 and then recovery.
Generally, wealth in 2011 is higher than in 2000, but aboutthe same as in 2007. Also, since
most currencies appreciated against the US dollar over the period, growth of a country’s
wealth usually does not appear as strong using the average exchange rate.
Countries that show typical features over 2000–11 include the United States itself (except
there is no exchange rate issue), Canada, Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom. Some
countries, notablyChina, India and Indonesia, show significantly above-average growth. At
the other extreme, although Japan shows some growth in US dollars it has had a long slow
decline in yen. Experiences after 2007 vary, with the United Kingdom for example showing a
very large drop, and Switzerland no decline in 2008 in US dollars. Wealth in most major
OECD economies, including the UK and the USA, has stillnot reached its 2007 level in
constant exchange-rate terms. Australia, Canada and Germany provide exceptions.
Our second chart shows countries’ breakdown of assets between financial and real (nonfinancial) forms, as well as mean debt and net worth. On average internationally, financial
assets are 52% of total assets, and debt is 15%. There are several countries, however,
where financial assetsare more important – notably the USA and Japan. At the other
extreme, real assets dominate heavily in India and Indonesia, and in Australia and France
among rich countries.
Our last chart shows wealth distribution. There are some interesting contrasts. For example,
43% of adults in India have less than USD 1,000, whereas this fraction is only 6% in China.
Also, some developed countries havesignificant percentages in the very low wealth ranges,
while others have very few. This reflects such factors as availability of credit, including
student loans, as well as how many young adults live separately from their parents, making
their low wealth more apparent.

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United States

F igure 1

Wealth per adult over time
USD 300,000
USD 250,000Land of fortunes

USD 200,000
USD 150,000
USD 100,000

The United States has seen fluctuating wealth levels since the
year 2000. Average wealth was close to USD 200,000 at the
turn of the century and rose fairly steadily until 2006, before
falling as a result of the financial crisis (Figure 1). There has
subsequently been a recovery, but wealth per adult remains
below the 2006 level. It...