Global Wealth Rankings: Malaysia Left in the Dust at 40th Place While Singapore Soars to 4th Spot

Malaysia has its share of achievements, but it also faces challenges. International studies reveal that the country is not performing well, resulting in its lowest rankings yet…

The Allianz Global Wealth Report was recently released, highlighting Singapore’s impressive achievement of reaching 4th place worldwide in terms of global wealth.

According to the report, Malaysia has net financial assets per person amounting to only €9,430 (approximately RM44,000), while Singapore has a whopping €171,930 (approximately RM800,000) per person.

The middle-income group is feeling the squeeze since they rely a lot on personal and housing loans, and even though rising global interest rates are making people borrow more carefully, household debt is still a major challenge.

By the end of 2023, only Chile with €7,330 (approximately RM34,000) and Malaysia with €8,820 (approximately RM41,000) had higher debt per capita.

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US takes the win with RM1 million in net financial assets

The United States claims the top spot with impressive net financial assets per person amounting to €260,320 (approximately RM1,200,000). Hot on its heels is Switzerland with €255,440 (RM190,000) while Denmark takes 3rd place with €172,200 (approximately RM808,000).

Other Southeast Asian countries that have also made it onto the list include Thailand at 45th, the Philippines at 49th, Vietnam at 53rd, Cambodia at 54th, and Indonesia at 56th.

Methodology used

The Allianz Global Wealth Report looks at the gross financial assets that households have, including cash, bank deposits, insurance receivables, securities like shares and bonds, and any debts they owe.

It pulls data from 57 countries that make up 91% of global GDP and 72% of the world’s population. For 42 of those countries, they used macroeconomic financial accounts, while for the others, they estimated financial assets based on household surveys, bank stats, and other data.

To avoid any confusion from fluctuating exchange rates, they converted everything into local currencies using the rates from the end of 2023.

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Do you agree with the rankings? Let us know down in the comments!

Also read: Malaysia Drops 12 Spots in Global Skill Rankings, Lags Further Behind Singapore, Indonesia & Vietnam