Bahrain has the world's second-highest density of millionaires with 123 out of every 1,000 households holding private wealth greater than $1 million, according to a new report.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s "Global Wealth 2015: Winning the Growth Game", released yesterday (June 16) found that the highest density of millionaires in the world was in Switzerland, followed by Bahrain and Qatar, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

In 2013, Bahrain ranked sixth in the world by proportion of millionaire households, with 5.9 per cent - 59 out of every 1,000 households - holding private wealth of at least $1 million.

Private wealth in Bahrain grew by 5.4 per cent last year, driven mainly by equities and bonds.

Between 2013 and last year, the amount of wealth held in equities and bonds rose by 8.1 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively, compared with 3.1 per cent for cash and deposits, the report found.

Bahrain is poised for further growth (6.8 per cent) in the next five years, with the wealth breakdown anticipated to be 45 per cent in cash and deposits, 9 per cent in bonds, and 46 per cent in equities.

Over the next five years, in Bahrain, private wealth held in equities is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8 per cent.

In parallel, bonds will grow by 4 per cent and cash and deposits will see a 4.7 per cent jump.

"In terms of wealth distribution, private wealth held by ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) households (those with above $100 million) in Bahrain grew by 7.5 per cent last year, on the back of dynamic equity markets and a growing economy," BCG Middle East partner and managing director Markus Massi said.

"Private wealth held by the UHNW segment is set to soar by an impressive 29.4 per cent by 2019.

"Interestingly, in Bahrain, the upper high-net-worth (HNW) segment (those with between $20 million and $100 million) witnessed the highest growth last year."

Private wealth in that segment rose by 14.3 per cent last year.

With a projected CAGR of 12.3 per cent over the next five years, this segment is expected to see continued growth.

This will be triggered by both a large number of new households entering the segment and growth in average wealth per household.

In Bahrain, private wealth held by the lower HNW segment (those with between $1 million and $20 million) grew at a lower rate (4.2 per cent).

It is forecast to grow by 5.3 per cent over the next five years.

"The total number of millionaire households (those with more than $1m in private wealth) in Bahrain increased by 2.1 per cent last year," said Massi. "Looking ahead, it will grow another 2.4 per cent by 2019."

BCG defines millionaires as households with $1 million in easily monetised wealth-cash, stock and securities, pension funds and other financial assets.

Their wealth measurement doesn't include real estate, business ownership and collectible and consumer goods.

The number of millionaires in the world grew to 17 million last year, up from 15 million in 2013.

The US still has the largest number of millionaires in the world.

The population of millionaires in the US grew by 4.7 per cent last year to 6.9 million.

China ranked second in millionaire population but had the largest number of new millionaires.

Its millionaire population grew to 3.6 million, which means China added more than half of the world's two million new millionaires last year.

Ranking third was Japan, with 1.1 million millionaires, up 4.7 per cent from 2013. – TradeArabia News Service