Qatar recorded the highest average wealth per adult of $153,294 in mid-2013 in the Mena region, growing two per cent from the same period last year, said a report.

The fourth annual Global Wealth Report 2013 released by Credit Suisse Research Institute added that the UAE followed closely with $126,791, rising four per cent since 2012.

Kuwait was placed third in the region with an average wealth per adult of $119,101 but declined 0.3 per cent from last year.  The average wealth per adult in Oman and Bahrain grew 2 per cent from mid last year.

Average wealth per adult in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the region, rose 0.7 per cent from mid-2012 to reach $37,346 while Egypt’s wealth per adult fell 12 per cent to $ 7,285.

In terms of total wealth, however, Saudi Arabia ranked first with an estimated $0.6 trillion, closely followed by UAE with an estimated $0.5 trillion. Egypt ranked third, with an estimated $0.4 trillion.

Aggregate global household wealth increased by 4.9 per cent to $241 trillion from mid-2012 to mid-2013, despite continuing challenges posed by the economic environment, said the report.

It found that global wealth is set to rise by nearly 40 per cent in the next five years to reach $334 trillion.

Emerging markets are to increase their share of global wealth to 23 per cent by 2018, with China alone expected to represent over 10 per cent of global wealth.

The report pointed out that the US will remain the leader in terms of aggregate wealth, with a total net worth approaching $100 trillion at the end of the next five years.

The Eurozone’s wealth per adult in 2013 has recovered more than half of the large loss experienced in the previous 12 months, mainly due to rising equity prices, while Switzerland ranked highest in average wealth, breaking the $500,000 level to hit a new high of $513,000 per adult.

The number of millionaires worldwide is set to increase by about 16 million reaching 47 million in 2018, said the report.

Giles Keating, global head of Research for Private Banking and Wealth Management, Credit Suisse, said: “The report shows a $11 trillion rise in wealth to over $241 trillion, with the US as the clear winner overtaking Europe and APAC falling back due to the sharp depreciation of the yen.”

Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Michael O’Sullivan said: “Our research shows that global wealth has doubled since 2000, quite compelling given some of the economic challenges of the last decade.   We expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future, driven largely by emerging markets’ strong economic growth and rising population levels.”  - TradeArabia News Service