How Much Money Exists in the World Per Person?

How Much Money Exists in the World Per Person?

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This chart explores a hypothetical question: how much money exists in the world per person?

Defining “all the world’s money” is complex, with multiple ways to calculate it. Here, we use global M2 money supply at the end of 2024, sourced from CEIC Data.

See the final section for an explanation of this metric, what it measures, and why economists track it.

Population data is sourced from the UN World Population Prospects 2024.

Dividing the World’s Money Equally

At the end of 2024, there was approximately $123 trillion in cash, savings, and money market funds around the world.

Dividing by 8 billion people equals only around $15,000 for every single human being.

Importantly, this does not include everything in real estate, shares, or any other kind of illiquid investment.

So, what can $15,000 get you?

Not a lot. We made a list for context:

• One used car
• Or, about four months of rent in NYC
• Or, two years worth of groceries
• Or one, really expensive, gaming PC

This figure puts the spotlight on how unequal money distribution is in the world.

What is M2 Global Money Supply?

M2 money supply measures all the money people have easily accessible, like cash, checking accounts, and savings accounts.

It’s a way to see how much spending power is out there, which can give clues about where the economy might be heading.

How much money is circulating in the economy can influence GDP. For example when governments send cash payments to households, they’re essentially increasing the money supply.

If output doesn’t rise in tandem, then prices can rise, leading to inflation and impacting nominal GDP.

As a result, controlling money supply is a critical responsibility for governments and central banks around the world. They do this by changing reserve requirements and key lending rates, and buying (or selling) securities.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

As a thought experiment, we did this for gold as well. Check out: Dividing the World’s Gold Equally to see how much each person gets.