Switzerland named the richest nation on Earth per capita by UBS

The latest Global Wealth Report from UBS has revealed that Switzerland has defended its title as the richest country in the world per capita. The Swiss bank revealed that rates of global wealth have largely recovered since their dip in 2022.

UBS Global Wealth Report 2024

According to the report, global wealth in 2023 recovered much of the value it lost in the previous year. After a 3 percent decline in 2022, blamed by the bank on a strong US dollar, average global wealth rose by 4,2 percent in 2023. 

The study, which monitors household finances in 56 markets that account for over 92 percent of global wealth, noted that wealth has grown the most in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The fastest wealth growth last year was reported in Turkey, Qatar and Russia. By contrast Greece, Japan, Italy and Spain were the only locations that saw wealth levels fall in 2023.

Switzerland ranked as the richest on Earth (again)

For the 2024 report, Switzerland has retained its title of being the richest country in the world per capita. In 2023, the average wealth per adult in the alpine nation stood at 709.612 US dollars, over 100.000 dollars more than Luxembourg in second place. 

What’s more, UBS noted that more than 1 million dollar millionaires are now residents in Switzerland, meaning millionaires account for around 15 percent of the total population. By 2028, the bank predicts that wealth in the alpine nation will grow by over 15 percent.

Are people in Switzerland really that rich?

While salaries in Switzerland are some of the highest in the world, the idea that every person has 700.000 dollars worth of money stashed away in banks, housing and other investments will sound far-fetched to most residents. In fact, UBS conceded that while the figure is correct, median wealth in Switzerland is much lower at 171.035 US dollars - this means half the population have assets over this value, while another half has fewer.

Nevertheless, this still makes median wealth in Switzerland the seventh highest in the world, but far behind Luxembourg (372.258 dollars), Australia (261.805) and Belgium (256.185) in the top three.

Wealth inequality in Switzerland remains a challenge

One of the main reasons for the disparity is the proportion of super-rich who live in Switzerland. According to Bilanz, 141 billionaires call the alpine nation home, which combined with the country's relatively small population helps push wealth per capita figures higher. 

Indeed, according to the World Inequality Database, the richest 1 percent in Switzerland own almost 31,5 percent of the country’s wealth - a 2022 report from the Swiss government put the figure even higher, at 44 percent. "Even in the USA, the concentration of wealth of the richest 1 percent is not as great as in our country," University of Lucerne professor Marius Brülhart told Blick.

By contrast, the poorest half of the population owns just 3,7 percent of Swiss national wealth. This is a major decline from the 4,7 percent recorded before the financial crisis in 2008. 

Inequality in Switzerland is better than in Germany

However, there are some metrics where Switzerland compares well. The country’s Gini coefficient - which measures economic inequality as a percentage, 0 percent being total equality -  has been steadily improving within the same timeframe, from 70 percent in 2008 to 67 in 2023. This means that Switzerland is more equal than Germany, but less equal than Austria, Italy and France.

10 richest countries in the world ranked

In all, here are the 10 richest countries on Earth (by average wealth in US dollars):

1. Switzerland (709.612)
2. Luxembourg (607.524)
3. Hong Kong (582.000)
4. United States (564.862)
5. Australia (546.184)
6. Denmark (448.802)
7. New Zealand (408.231)
8. Singapore (397.708)
9. Norway (382.575)
10. Canada (375.800)

For more information, check out the official UBS study.