UBS study: Switzerland is still the richest country in the world
According to the Global Wealth Report 2025, the average wealth of an adult in Switzerland was $687,000 in 2024, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.
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Listening: UBS study: Switzerland is still the richest country in the world
Average per-capita wealth in Switzerland rose last year to $687,000 (CHF561,000), the UBS Global Wealth Report said on Wednesday. The Alpine nation retains its position as the richest country in the world, followed by the United States, where wealth has risen sharply.
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Schweiz bleibt laut UBS reichstes Land der Welt
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According to the Global Wealth Report 2025 published by UBS on Wednesday, the average wealth of an adult in Switzerland (population 8.8 million) was $687,000 (CHF561,000) in 2024, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.
UBS defines wealth as the sum of all financial assets and tangible assets such as real estate owned by private individuals minus debts. This figure includes the assets of private pension funds.
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How did the Swiss become so rich?
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How did the small mountainous country become one of the wealthiest in the world? This SRF documentary examines some of the possible factors.
The increase in wealth is primarily due to the rise in property prices. “Many new millionaires have become millionaires simply because the value of their own property has risen,” Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, told reporters.
Major global differences
According to the UBS report, global assets increased by 4.6% last year. Eastern Europe recorded the largest asset growth with an increase of 12%. This was closely followed by North America with 11.98%.
“At the same time, however, more than half of the countries analysed remained unaffected by global wealth growth last year,” said Donovan. For the most part, these countries even recorded a decline in average wealth per adult.
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Swiss Abroad
Switzerland’s super-rich: essential contributors or a social threat?
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Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. However, its wealth is distributed very unevenly: the richest 1% own 45% of total assets.
In Western Europe, for example, wealth fell by 1.5% compared to the previous year. In Latin America, the decline was a whopping 4.3%.
High asset growth in US
According to UBS, US residents became notably richer last year: wealth increased by 11% compared to the previous year. In 2024 alone, almost 380,000 people became millionaires in the US.
Almost 24 million Americans can now call themselves dollar millionaires, or around 40% of all millionaires worldwide. Around 6.3 million millionaires were recorded in mainland China. Together, the two countries account for over half (54%) of all global wealth.
Translated from French by DeepL/sb
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