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Visualizing the Distribution of Household Wealth, By Country

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Visualizing the Distribution of Household Wealth, By Country

A majority of the world’s wealth is concentrated in just a few countries. In fact, almost a third of household wealth is held by Americans, while China’s population accounts for nearly a fifth.

Using data from Credit Suisse, this graphic by Eleonora Nazander shows the distribution of household wealth worldwide, highlighting the wealth gap that exists across regions.

Top 10 Wealthiest Countries

To help simplify things, this graphic shows how much household wealth each country would have if the world only had $100.

As the graphic illustrates, the top 10 wealthiest countries would hold an estimated $77, or 77% of global household wealth. Here’s a breakdown of what their cut of $100 would be:

CountryTotal Wealth ($B)Share of $100
🇺🇸 United States$105,990$29.40
🇨🇳 China$63,827$17.71
🇯🇵 Japan$24,992$6.93
🇩🇪 Germany$14,660$4.07
🇬🇧 United Kingdom$14,341$3.98
🇫🇷 France$13,729$3.81
🇮🇳 India$12,614$3.50
🇮🇹 Italy$11,358$3.15
🇨🇦 Canada$8,573$2.38
🇪🇸 Spain$7,772$2.16
Total$278 Trillion$77.09

The U.S. comes in first place, holding $29.40, or almost a third of total wealth, while China comes in second, accounting for $17.71.

This makes sense considering the high concentration of ultra-wealthy individuals in both countries—China and the U.S. are home to more than half of the world’s billionaires, and eight of the 10 richest people on the planet are Americans, including the world’s richest, Elon Musk.

Japan ranks third on the list, accounting for $6.93. Like the U.S. and China, Japan also has a high portion of ultra-high net worth citizens, or individuals with a net worth of $30 million or more.

Interestingly, India ranks seventh on the list, despite having the third-highest number of billionaires worldwide and a massive population of 1.4 billion. One contributing factor to this could be the country’s relatively high levels of poverty.

Wealth Inequality

It’s important to note that, while the U.S. and China hold a majority of the world’s wealth, both countries still struggle with wealth inequality.

Currently, the top 1% of U.S. households hold 31.7% of the country’s household wealth. And while China has made progress on poverty in the last decade through rapid economic growth, the wealth gap between the country’s rich and poor has widened in recent years.

Governments in both countries have announced plans to tackle wealth inequality. For instance, the Biden administration is working to pass legislation that would increase taxes on businesses and wealthy Americans. Meanwhile, the Chinese government announced its five-year plan to crack down on private enterprise, in an attempt to break up monopolies and ultimately achieve “common prosperity.”

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Economy

Charted: U.S. National Debt, as a Percent of GDP (1900-2035P)

We show U.S. national debt projections, highlighting how debt as a share of GDP is set to soar to 118.5% by 2035.

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Line chart showing U.S. national debt projections as a share of GDP through to 2035.

Charted: The U.S. National Debt (1900-2035P)

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This year, U.S. national debt is set to approach 100% of GDP, up from 36% in 2005.

By 2035, the tab is projected to reach 118.5% of GDP as higher debt costs steepen the deficit, fueling further government borrowing. Today, the deficit stands at $1.9 trillion with net interest and mandatory spending outpacing revenues.

This graphic shows U.S. federal debt projections to 2035, based on data from the Congressional Budget Office.

Swimming in Debt

Below, we show how national debt held by the public is set to mushroom over the next decade:

YearU.S. Federal Debt as a % of GDP
2035P118.5
2034P117.1
2033P115.3
2032P113.0
2031P111.1
2030P109.2
2029P107.2
2028P105.4
2027P103.4
2026P101.7
2025P99.9
202497.8
202396.0
202295.0
202196.9
202098.6
201978.9
201877.1
201775.7
201676.0
201572.2
201473.3
201371.8
201270.0
201165.5
201060.6
200952.2
200839.2
200735.2
200635.4
200535.8
200435.7
200334.7
200232.7
200131.5
200033.7
199938.3
199841.7
199744.6
199647.0
199547.7
199447.8
199347.9
199246.8
199144.1
199040.9
198939.4
198839.9
198739.6
198638.5
198535.3
198433.1
198332.2
198227.9
198125.2
198025.5
197925.0
197826.7
197727.1
197626.7
197524.6
197423.2
197325.2
197226.5
197127.1
197027.1
196928.4
196832.3
196731.9
196633.8
196536.8
196438.8
196341.1
196242.3
196143.6
196044.3
195946.5
195847.8
195747.3
195650.7
195555.8
195458.0
195357.2
195260.1
195165.5
195078.6
194977.4
194882.4
194793.9
1946106.1
1945103.9
194486.4
194369.2
194245.9
194141.5
194043.6
193942.4
193842.2
193739.6
193642.5
193542.4
193443.5
193338.6
193234.0
193122.0
193016.3
192914.8
192817.0
192718.0
192619.0
192521.6
192423.5
192325.2
192231.1
192131.6
192027.3
191933.4
191830.2
191713.3
19162.7
19153.3
19143.5
19133.2
19123.4
19113.6
19103.7
19093.8
19084.3
19074.0
19064.0
19054.3
19044.7
19035
19025.4
19015.7
19006.6

By 2029, federal debt is forecast to exceed the post-WWII record based on an outlook that doesn’t factor in recessions.

This comes amid a widening deficit during a period of low unemployment and a growing U.S. economy. In many ways, this counters the theory of shrinking the deficit during economic expansion and increasing the deficit during downturns.

Looking ahead, net interest on the federal debt is expected to nearly double from 2024 levels, reaching $1.8 trillion by 2035. To put it in perspective, interest costs will be 1.7 times higher than defense spending that year.

While Modern Monetary Theory suggests that countries that have control over their currencies will never face default since they can print more money, evidence from history suggests a different outcome.

From the British Empire and Habsburg Spain to the Ottoman Empire, historian Niall Ferguson finds that superpowers that have spent more on debt servicing costs than defense have not held onto power for very long.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic amid swelling debt, check out this graphic on the top holders of U.S. debt.

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