New World Wealth has released its W10 report, showing the 10 richest countries in the world.
The wealth analyst also reveals the wealthiest and poorest countries in Africa per capita.
NWW ranks the top 10 countries in the world by “total individual wealth” held – namely the private wealth held by all the individuals in each country.
It includes all their net assets (wealth), including all property, cash, equities and business interests.
Countries ranked by total individual wealth in 2015:
#CountryTotal wealth (US$ billions)
1United States48 700
2China17 300
3Japan15 200
4Germany9 400
5United Kingdom9 200
6France7 600
7India5 200
8Italy5 000
9Canada4 800
10Australia4 500
New World Wealth noted that Australia’s ranking is impressive considering it only has 22 million people living there.
India only makes the W10 due to its large population, as on a per capita basis, the country is extremely poor.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, China is the fastest growing W10 country over the past 15 years (2000 – 2015), while India has also shown strong growth, overtaking Italy in the past year.
Wealthiest people in the world
NWW also ranks all known countries by average wealth per person (wealth per capita). As reflected, small tax havens such as Monaco and Liechtenstein top the list.
The UK also features high on the list due to the high value of real estate in the country.
Countries ranked by per capita wealth in 2015
#CountryWealth per capita (US$)
1Monaco1 525 000
2Liechtenstein620 000
3Switzerland285 000
4Australia204 000
5Norway200 000
6Luxembourg181 000
7Singapore158 000
8United States150 000
9United Kingdom147 000
10Sweden146 000
The high average wealth of people living in Monaco reflects:
  • Its tax haven status – people living in Monaco pay no income tax. This attracts wealthy people to move there and also promotes business formation in the country.
  • Offshore center – Monaco operates as an offshore center for the European wealth sector, which brings a large number of wealthy financiers to the country.
  • High proportion of multi-millionaires – approximately 2,200 of Monaco’s 40,000 residents are worth over US$10 million.
Top 20 in Africa
Looking at Africa, Mauritius is by far the richest on a per capita basis with $21,700 averaged per person.
South Africa ranks second with $10,300 which is down from $11,000 a year ago, and is closely followed by Namibia with $10,200.
African wealth per capita in 2015
#CountryWealth per capita (US$)
1Mauritius21 700
2South Africa10 300
3Namibia10 200
4Botswana8 400
5Gabon8 100
6Algeria6 200
7Morocco5 800
8Egypt4 400
9Angola3 800
10Ghana2 000
11Kenya2 000
12Cote d’Ivoire1 700
13Nigeria1 400
14Zambia1 200
15Tanzania1 100
16Uganda900
17Mozambique800
18Ethiopia500
19Congo400
20Zimbabwe200
On a wealth per capita basis, the fastest growing countries in Africa during the past 15 years (2000 – 2015) have been Angola and Ghana.
Notably, Zimbabwe was the only African country to experience a decline in per capita wealth during the 15 year period.
During the past 8 years (since 2007), the fastest growing countries in Africa were Mauritius, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Kenya, New World Wealth said.