Australian households are the richest in the world, thanks to our robust property market and the Australian dream of owning your own home.
According to Credit Suisse’s
Global Wealth Report 2014, Australia’s median household wealth of USD 225,400 is the highest in the world – and it is thanks to our high property prices.
“Interestingly, the composition of household wealth in Australia is heavily skewed towards real assets, which averaged USD 319,700 and form 60% of gross household assets,” the report states.
“In part, it reflects a large endowment of land and natural resources relative to population, but it is also a result of high urban real estate prices.”
The report, under a section titled “Australia: No Worries”, also reveals that Australia’s wealth per adult in 2014 is the second highest in the world at USD 430,800, after Switzerland.
Only 6% of Australians have net worth below USD 10,000, which is well below 29% in the US and 70% for the world as a whole.
The proportion of those with wealth above USD 100,000 is eight times the world average and the highest of any country.
With 1,783,000 people in the top 1% of global wealth holders, Australia accounts for 3.8% of this wealthy group, despite having just 0.4% of the world’s adult population, according to the report.
