Wealth per adult rankings: How does Europe compare with the world’s richest countries?
Wealth per person across the globe varies significantly as shown by the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026. The US is home to 38.1% of personal wealth out of the 56 countries in the report which represent over 92%...
Wealth per person across the globe varies significantly as shown by the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026.
The US is home to 38.1% of personal wealth out of the 56 countries in the report which represent over 92% of the world's wealth.
Western Europe follows at 21.9%, while Eastern Europe accounts for only 3.3%.
Average and median wealth per adult also differ widely across countries with 18 of the global top 30 economies in average wealth per adult being in Europe. This rises to 19 markets for median wealth.
So which countries are the richest in terms of wealth per adult? And how much wealth per adult do Europeans have?
As of the end of 2025, Switzerland leads the global top 30 list with an average of €777,506 per adult. The US ranks second with €594,651 (or $696,277). Luxembourg (€559,170) is the EU country with the highest average wealth per adult.
Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore follow, with over €450,000.
Denmark (€446,959), Norway (€363,303) and the Netherlands (€354,673) are the other European countries in the top 10.
Average wealth per adult is also above the €300,000 level in Belgium (€348,382) and Sweden (€347,089)
No big gap among Europe's major economies
Europe's five largest economies also appear on the list.
Germany ranks highest at 14th, while Italy sits lowest at 23rd, but the average wealth levels are not too different.
Germany's average is €296,023 compared with €238,653 in Italy. France follows at €291,536, then Spain at €261,689 and the UK at €250,071.
Ireland (€268,312), Austria (€239,123), Finland (€178,610), Portugal (€167,188), Malta (€139,769) and Greece (€122,421) are the other European countries in the top 30 list.
Median wealth tells a different story
When wealth per adult is examined by median rather than average, both the amounts and the rankings change significantly. A median is the middle number in a list sorted from lowest to highest, or highest to lowest.
"The conclusion we can draw is that each market has a different distribution of wealth, therefore appearing wealthier or poorer depending on which segment of the adult population we look at," the report said.
Luxembourg leads the global median wealth list at €336,498. This is less than half of the top average wealth figure. Belgium ranks second but median wealth falls to €236,712.
Australia (€180,018), New Zealand (€176,460) and Hong Kong (€160,533) are also in the top 10, as they are in the average wealth rankings.
Denmark (€174,029), Switzerland (€124,310) and Norway (€119,569) are the other European countries in the top 10.
Big shift among Europe's five largest economies
The rankings change entirely among Europe's five largest economies. Italy has the highest median wealth per adult at €111,881, ranking 11th globally. Germany, in contrast, has the lowest figure at €45,679, ranking last globally.
The UK (€107,042), France (€104,106) and Spain (€95,290) are closer to Italy, making Germany's figure stand out as significantly lower.
When both lists are compared, Slovenia replaces the UAE in the median wealth ranking.
Heavy concentration of extreme wealth
The US ranks third from the bottom at €58,927, compared with second in the average wealth ranking. This is by far the largest single drop in the list.
Germany also dropped 16 places, from 14th to 30th. The drop is also above 10 places in Sweden and Singapore.
These countries rank significantly higher in average wealth than in median wealth, indicating a heavy concentration of extreme wealth at the top.
Japan climbs 14 places, from 24th to 10th. Malta, Italy, Belgium and the UK are other countries with significantly higher positions in the median rankings compared with the average. This points to a broader and more evenly distributed middle class.
The report emphasised that median wealth is known to paint a more accurate picture of the wealth levels prevalent in the middle of the scale.
However, all of these data tell us nothing about purchasing power.
Looking at broader regional terms, the US clearly has the highest average wealth per adult compared with other regions, including Europe.
It stands at €594,651 in the US whereas average wealth in Western Europe is less than half that. It is €287,884 Western Europe while this falls to €53,055 in Eastern Europe.
