Where in Europe did wealth per adult grow fastest in 2024?

Euronews

7 days ago

The net worth of citizens varies significantly across Europe, and it changes every year. What really matters is how the changes compare when adjusted for inflation.
Wealth per adult increased in a huge majority of European countries between 2023 and 2024, while a few saw declines, according to UBS's Global Wealth Report 2025.
Changes measured in local currencies are shown in both average and median values — we focus on the median for deeper analysis, which isn't affected by extreme outliers, while briefly mentioning averages.
Hungary recorded the highest real growth in median wealth per adult between 2023 and 2024, rising by 18.6%. The growth also reached 15% or above in several other countries, including Lithuania (16.9%), Sweden (15.3%), Italy and Latvia (both 15%).
In the report, among EU member states, candidate countries, EFTA members, and the UK, only Turkey and Belgium saw a decline in median wealth per adult. Turkey stands out with a sharp 20.9% drop, while Belgium recorded a more moderate fall of 5.6%.
Of Europe's five largest economies, Italy saw the highest real growth in wealth per adult at 15% whereas the UK had the lowest at 5.3%. France (10.3%), Germany (9.5%), and Spain (9%) fell in between.
Switzerland, the wealthiest country per adult, saw a 7.7% increase. Sweden and other Nordic countries also recorded strong growth, each exceeding 10%.
Outside Europe, South Korea (13.9%), Australia (10.7%), Canada (9.6%), and Japan (8.6%) saw significant gains in 2024. The increase in the US was more moderate at 2.3%. China and Russia recorded notable declines of 6.3% and 8.2%, respectively.
Looking at average wealth change instead of median, several European countries saw declines. Both Turkey (–14.6%) and Belgium (–0.3%) saw smaller average declines in comparison to their median values. Luxembourg (–1.3%), Estonia (–2.3%), France (–1.8%), and the UK (–3.6%) also recorded decreases.
Drivers behind changes in Turkey's asset prices
So, what explains Turkey's sharpest decline in wealth per adult between 2023 and 2024?
Prof. Hakan Kara of Bilkent University in Ankara, and former chief economist at the Central Bank of Turkey, suggests that to understand this trend, one must look back over the past five years.
He noted that between 2020 and 2023, an environment of abundant credit and extremely low real interest rates led to a significant surge in asset prices.
'This period witnessed a major transfer of wealth from savers to borrowers, and from fixed-income households to corporations. The Foreign Exchange Protected Deposit scheme (KKM) further reinforced this dynamic. As wealth inequality rose rapidly, only a narrow segment of the population—those with access to credit or pre-existing savings—was able to benefit from the asset price boom,' he explained.
By mid-2023, with the normalisation of interest rates, a real correction in asset prices began. As housing, land, stock, and bond prices declined in real terms, a corresponding erosion of real wealth was observed.
'We can see the 2023-24 period as a correction of the 2020-22 period', he added.
Five-year changes: Austria records the largest decline
'Real' changes in wealth per adult from the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2024 reveal longer-term trends. Austria emerges as a major outlier, with median wealth per adult falling by 18%. The Netherlands (–2.3%) and Estonia (–0.1%) followed.
In Europe, Cyprus recorded the highest increase at 43.9%, followed by Denmark, Latvia, and Lithuania — each with gains of over 30%.
Real median wealth per adult growth also exceeded 25% in Malta, Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, and Portugal.
Germany saw the highest rise among Europe's top five economies, with a 20.1% increase. Italy recorded the lowest at 4.7%. Spain (17.8%) and the UK (16.3%) posted strong growth, while France saw a more moderate increase of 10.5%.
Major non-European countries reported significant growth, with the US leading at 45.8%, followed by Russia (35.1%) and South Korea (31%).
In average terms, the picture changes completely. Several countries saw declines in wealth per adult. Cyprus, which recorded the highest growth in median wealth, emerged as the outlier with a –24.9% drop in average wealth per adult.
Other significant drops occurred in Austria (–13.1%), Malta (–11.3%), Estonia (–10.6%), Italy (–9.4%), and Ireland (–7.8%). Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, and Slovakia also recorded comparatively moderate declines.
The impact of high inflation
'The contraction in real average wealth per adult in this period was mainly due to high inflation in the concerned countries, particularly so in Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, but also in Italy, albeit to a slightly lesser extent', the report noted.
The growth in the size of the adult population was a further contributing factor, primarily in the Netherlands and, to a smaller degree, in Switzerland according to the report. In Switzerland's case, currency depreciation was the primary factor, followed by inflation.
What do divergences suggest?
Divergences are striking in several countries, where changes in average and median wealth per adult differ significantly. For example, in Switzerland, slightly negative growth in average wealth per adult compares with a 14% rise in median wealth per adult, while in Italy the figures are respectively –10% and almost +5%.
'These divergences suggest slower wealth growth at the higher end of the spectrum than in the middle section of the wealth distribution,' the report pointed out.
The same dynamic was at work in Germany and the UK, too.