Saudi Arabia and UAE number of millionaires ‘to soar in 5 years’
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2009 file photo, a man talks on his smart phone at the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The UAE said Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010 it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. Officials in neighboring Saudi Arabia indicated it planned to follow suit. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are expected to see a significant growth in the number of millionaires in the next five years, Credit Suisse Research Institute revealed on Monday it its sixth annual Global Wealth Report which focuses on how the middle class has developed since the turn of the century.
“In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and UAE are expected to see an increase in the number of dollar millionaires by 72 percent and 62 percent respectively, in the in the next five years. Overall, the MENA region numbered 330,000 millionaires in 2015, up by more than 240 percent since 2000. The number of millionaires is projected to rise by another 52 percent to 500,000 adults by 2020,” the report said.
In terms of total wealth, Saudi Arabia ranked first among GCC economies, with an estimated total wealth of $0.7 trillion, closely followed by the UAE with an estimated wealth of $0.6 trillion. Egypt ranked first among North African nations with an estimated wealth of $0.4 trillion.
Emerging markets will likely account for 9.1 percent of millionaire wealth in 2020, 1 percent above current levels.
Qatar recorded the highest average wealth per adult of $157,000 in mid 2015, growing 0.8 percent from the same period last year, while UAE followed closely with $144,400, but declined 0.3 percentfrom last year.
Among major economies, Qatar occupied the 21st place globally in terms of average wealth, up from 29th place in the year 2000.
Kuwait’s wealth per adult amounted to $113,400 – a decline of 7.6 percent from last year. The average wealth per adult in Bahrain fell 0.3 percent from mid last year. Average wealth per adult in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the GCC, rose 0.9 percent from mid-2014 to reach $39,500, while Egypt’s wealth per adult fell 5.3 percent to $7,000.
Household wealth in the MENA region totaled $4.4 trillion in mid-2015, down 2.2 percent since mid-2014. In constant currency terms, however, net wealth increased by 1.7 percent. Since 2000, the group of countries have increased their combined wealth by 147 percent, outpacing other regions such Africa and Asia Pacific.
The number of dollar millionaires will likely rise by 46.2 percent over the next five years, increasing to a record 49.3 million adults.
