2024-02-19 14:25:02
In a global wealth comparison, Germany only comes in 19th place. Allianz’s Global Wealth Report tries to show why this is.
After the sharpest decline in global financial assets since the financial crisis, Allianz is expecting growth again this year, as the insurance group announced on the occasion of its annual wealth study, the Global Wealth Report.
In the ranking of the richest countries, Germany comes in at distant 19th place, while our neighboring countries do much better in some cases. Why is that?
Wealth distributed unequally
In 2022, people’s wealth around the world shrank for the first time since 2008. In their calculations, the Allianz economists estimate a decline of 2.7 percent compared to the previous year.
In total, financial assets worth 6.6 trillion euros were lost. According to Allianz, the gross financial assets of private households in the 57 countries examined – including debt – totaled 233 trillion euros at the end of last year.
There is still no question of an even distribution of the huge sum: According to Allianz calculations, the richest ten percent of the world’s population – around 560 million people in the 57 countries examined – together own 85 percent of the total net financial assets: on average around 270,000 Euro.
Germany ranks 19th out of the 25 richest countries
According to calculations, the gross financial assets of households in Germany fell by 4.9 percent to 7,454 billion euros in 2022 compared to the previous year – primarily due to losses in insurance and securities.
In terms of net financial assets per capita, Germany fell to 19th place in the ranking of the 25 richest countries with 63,540 euros, swapping places with Austria. Net financial assets include insurance claims, stocks, bonds, funds and bank deposits.
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The USA is once again the frontrunner (251,860 euros per capita), ahead of Switzerland (238,780 euros) and Denmark (163,830 euros). In Germany, Allianz expects private financial assets to grow by three percent this year.
The ranking shows: neighboring countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria are richer than Germany.
In the case of Switzerland or Denmark, the differences are particularly clear; the net financial assets per capita here are more than twice (Denmark) or even almost four times as high (Switzerland) as in Germany.
German savers do not rely enough on stock markets
According to “Welt”, the differences in assets are primarily due to the different forms of savings and investment strategies. Americans, for example, have accumulated significantly more wealth through the stock market over decades. Germans, on the other hand, rely more heavily on their own savings efforts, according to the report.
Education also plays a big role: those who have less financial education most often choose cash as an investment. Those who have more knowledge invest in stocks and mutual funds, and as a result receive more returns and can build up greater wealth.
The wealth study contains information on financial assets and debt of private households in 57 countries. These countries therefore represent 91 percent of global economic output and 72 percent of the world’s population. In the evaluation, the insurer takes into account cash, bank deposits, securities and claims against insurance companies and pension funds, but not real estate.