The US and Europe took first place in terms of the growth of well-being in the pandemic. Contrary to forecasts, these states have made the largest contribution to the increase in global wealth, leaving other countries far behind.
Credit Suisse Research Institute published its twelfth Global Wealth Report which showed continued wealth growth. According to the results of last year, the total global wealth ballooned by $28.7 trillion, reaching a record historical level of $418.3 trillion. If to estimate the growth at the current US dollar exchange rate, it totals 7.4%, when at the 2019 exchange rate, it amounted to 4.1%. The wealth per capita of the adult population soared by 6 and 2.7%, respectively. Importantly, the gap in the level of well-being is also widening. The boost to household wealth meant there were 56.1 million millionaires worldwide last year, up 5.2 million this year. "Wealth creation in 2020 appears to have been completely detached from the economic woes resulting from Covid-19," Anthony Shorrocks, the author of the report, stressed.
The regional breakdown shows that North America ($12.4 trillion) and Europe ($9.2 trillion) accounted for the bulk of the total wealth. The Asia-Pacific region, excluding China and India, increased by another $4.7 trillion. China added $4.2 trillion. Over the past year, India saw a 4.4% ($594 billion) fall in total wealth. In Latin America, the indicator dropped by 1.2 trillion. The worst figure was recorded in Thailand (minus 45%), and the best in China (minus 10%).
Along with the growth of prosperity, the total world debt is also growing. The indicator increased by 7.5%. The debt burden grew the most in China and Europe.
