India is Sixth Wealthiest Country in the World: Report

With total wealth of $8,230 billion, India has been ranked sixth in the list of wealthiest countries, according to a report by Johannesburg-based market research firm New World Wealth. India was the best performing wealth market globally in 2017 as its total wealth rose from $6,584 billion in 2016 to $8,230 billion in 2017, marking a 25 per cent growth, the report shows.

India’s total wealth saw an exponential jump of 160 per cent over the decade from 2007 to 2017 — from $3,165 billion in 2007 to $8,230 billion in 2017. The report also said that India is home to 3,30,400 HNWIs (high net worth individuals) — individuals with $1 million or more in net assets, placing it at the 9th rank globally. The United States topped the list with 50,47,400 HNWIs. Interestingly, London was the top destination for HNWIs for three decades, which changed for the first time in 2017, possibly due to Brexit.

The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, with total wealth of $64,584 billion in 2017. China claimed the second place, with $24,803 billion while Japan, with $19,522 billion, was ranked third. At the 4th place is United Kingdom with $9,919 billion total wealth, followed by Germany ($9,660 billion). Ranking behind India are France ($6,649 billion), Canada ($6,393 billion), and Australia ($6,142 billion). Rounding off the Top 10 is Italy with $4,276 billion total wealth.

China’s total wealth in the 2016-17 period saw an increase of 22 per cent. Global wealth, during the same period, rose by 12 per cent, from $192 trillion at the end of 2016 to $215 trillion at the end of 2017.

Total wealth is the term used for private wealth, which includes the property, cash, equities, and business interest that individuals in each country or city hold. The report does not take into account government funds.

India ranks 7th when it comes to multimillionaires, with 20,730 of them making the country their home.

“In general, it was a good year for all W10 (wealthiest 10) markets, thanks to strong global stock market gains – the MSCI world index was up 23 per cent and the Dow Jones (DJIA) was up 26 per cent during the year (in USD terms),” the report said. The report also observed that “wealth held in China, India, U.S, Japan and Australia all grew strongly over the past year.”