Qatar recorded the highest average wealth per adult of $161,700 in mid-2016, while the UAE followed closely with $151,100, according to the Global Wealth Report 2016.

Average wealth in Mena declined by 2.6 per cent in the 12 months to mid-2016 to $13,300, according to the report. Measured in local currency, average wealth increased by 2.5 per cent.

The number of millionaires in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has grown by 330 per cent since 2000 and is expected to reach 460,000 by 2021, the report published by Credit Suisse Research Institute said.

Qatar and the UAE saw a small drop of -0.4 per cent and -0.3 per cent respectively in average wealth from mid last year. Kuwait placed third in the region with an average wealth per adult of $119,000, which grew by 0.2 per cent since last year.  The average wealth per adult in Bahrain fell by -1.1 per cent from mid last year to $50,600 and in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the region, it fell by -0.6 per cent, touching $40,600. Egypt’s wealth per adult saw a massive drop of -13 per cent, touching $6,300.

Household wealth in the region reached an estimated $3.7 trillion in mid-2016. Wealth has grown by 162 per cent since 2000, well above the global average of 119 per cent.

Saudi Arabia ranked first in total household wealth with an estimated wealth of $725 billion, closely followed by the UAE with an estimated wealth of $597 billion. Egypt’s total wealth declined to $351 billion this year, having peaked at $511 billion in 2010. Qatar and Kuwait’s total wealth is estimated to be $210 billion and $288 billion respectively. Bahrain's net household wealth is estimated at $31 billion.

In the next five years household net wealth in the Mena region is expected to increase by a further 53 per cent, or nearly 9 per cent annually.

The Mena region currently accounts for 5.9 per cent of the world's adults but just 1.4 per cent of global wealth. The number of adults has increased by 56 per cent since 2000, the highest rate among regions in the report.

The lower segment of the wealth pyramid, adults with net wealth up to $10,000, accounts for 83 per cent of the population. The size of this segment has increased by 49 per cent since 2000 (below population growth), which indicates that the region is gradually becoming more prosperous. In contrast, the number of adults belonging to the global middle class, with net wealth between $10,000 and $100,000 grew by 90 per cent over the same period. By far the fastest growing segments of the wealth pyramid were the top tiers, as the number of adults with net wealth between $100,000 and $1 million grew 278 per cent for the period 2000-16.

The overall growth in global wealth remained limited in 2016, continuing the trend that emerged in 2013 and contrasting sharply with the double-digit growth rates witnessed before the global financial crisis of 2008, the report said.

In the mid-term, only moderate acceleration is expected. Switzerland once again ranked as the global leader in terms of average wealth per adult in 2016.

The total global wealth in 2016 edged upwards by $3.5 trillion to a total of $256 trillion (or 1.4 per cent), a rise very much in line with the increase in the world’s adult population. Accordingly, average wealth per adult of $52,800 remains in line with last year’s figures.

Developing economies are likely to outpace the developed world in terms of wealth growth. However, they will only account for just under one-third of growth over the next five years. At present, they account for around 18 per cent of global household wealth, up from just 12 per cent in 2000.

China is expected to contribute more than half of the forecast growth in emerging economies, while more than 7 per cent will come from India.

The number of millionaires globally has increased by 155 per cent, while the number of UHNWIs has risen by 216 per cent, making them by far the fastest-growing group of wealth holders.

The 12.4 million millionaires in the world in 2000 were heavily concentrated (96 per cent) in high-income economies. Since then, 20 million ‘new millionaires’ have been added to this total, of whom approximately 2.6 million – 13 per cent of the total additions – come from emerging economies.

This century, no other segments of the wealth pyramid have developed as significantly as the millionaire and UHNWI segments.

The number of millionaires is projected to reach 45.1 million by 2021, while the number of UHNWIs could reach 208,000, up from 141,000. - TradeArabia News Service