India ranks sixth in terms of total wealth
India ranks sixth among the wealthiest countries, says the New World Wealth report. The report states that the total wealth of India is $ 8,230 billion. This is based on the total wealth calculated as at the end of year 2017.
Which are the top countries in the list of wealthiest countries?
The first five countries ahead of India in the list are
The United States – $ $64,584 billion
China- $24,803 billion
Japan- $19,522 billion
United Kingdom – $9,919 billion
Germany – $ 9,660 billion.
India ranks ahead of France ($6,649 billion) and Canada ($6,393 billion). Australia and Italy are in 9th and 10th positions respectively.
How is total wealth calculated?
Total wealth is arrived from the net-worth of individuals living in a country. The private wealth of all individuals are estimated and from this total liabilities are reduced to arrive at total wealth. Private wealth by individuals includes all assets like property, gold, cash, investment in shares/ equities/business etc. However, government funds are not taken into account for calculating total wealth.
What was the driving force behind the wealth growth?
The strong global stock markets played a pivotal role in 2017 in improving the wealth of the all W10 (wealthiest 10). The MSCI world index grew by 23%. The stock markets in India, China, Japan, USA and Australia registered strong growth during the year.
Wealth creation – India continues the fast pace
In terms of performance of wealth creation, India was the best performer. India registered a growth of 25% and the wealth rose from $6,584 billion to $8,230 billion, in a year. China registered 22% growth in wealth. These countries registered much better growth than the world average of 12%. Total wealth of the globe is estimated to be $215 trillion as against the $192 trillion at the end of year 2016.
India has registered a growth of 160% during the last decade. Total wealth of India reached $8,230 billion in 2017 from a position of $3,165 billion in 2007. The roots of the growth registered during the last decade can be traced to the economic reforms commenced in India way back in 1991. It was in 1991 that India decided to open up the economy to save the country from the foreign exchange (forex) crisis that caused the foreign exchange reserve to plummet to a dismal figure of just 5.8 billion dollar. Opening up of Indian economy resulted in liberalization. The remedial measures have brought handsome rewards for India. The forex reserve now stands at $ 420 billion.
Where does India stand in the number of high net-worth individuals(HNWIs)?
Those individuals who possess $ 1 million or more are classified under high net-worth individuals. India with 3,30,400 HNWIs (high net-worth individuals) ranks nine in the list. The US is the topper in the list with 50,47,400 HNWIs.
In terms of number of multimillionaires, India occupies seventh position with 20,730 multimillionaires. In this list, India is in third position after the US and China.
At the present growth rate of around 8%, many economists predict India to be a $10 trillion country by 2030.
