Singapore adults are the eighth wealthiest people in the world. (Yahoo! file photo)
Singapore adults have been ranked the eighth wealthiest people in the world, ahead of counterparts in the United Kingdom and Sweden.
The average wealth of an adult Singapore resident stood at S$317,000 in 2012, up from $138,665 in 2000, according to a Credit Suisse study. Most of the rise is due to the saving rate and asset price increases rather than exchange rate movements, the study said.
The richest nation with wealth per adult is Switzerland with S$597,600. The other Asian country in the top 10 ranking is Japan, in fifth place with $331,550.
Household assets in Singapore are divided roughly equally into financial assets and eral assets, reflecting the government's strong encouragement for both savings and home ownership, the study said.
Singapore is also ranked eighth in the number of millionaires. There were about 156,000 Singapore millionaires in 2012 and the number is expected to rise to 249,000 in 2017.
United States has the most number of millionaires with 11,023,000 and the number is expected to rise to 16,870,000 in 2017. By region, about a quarter of the world's millionaires come from the Asia Pacific region, including China and India.
Singapore adults also have an average debt of $56,000, which is moderate for a high wealth country. Only 20 per cent of Singaporeans have wealth below $12,000 as opposed to 69 per cent for the world as a whole.
Click here for more information on the findings of the study.
