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How does Europe compare to the world's richest countries?

2026-07-25 08:04:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The average wealth per adult in Western Europe is less than half that of the U.S. European countries perform better in average wealth, while the U.S. falls significantly.

Wealth per person across the globe varies significantly, as shown by the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026.

The US has 38.1% of the personal wealth of the 56 countries in the report, which represent over 92% of the world's wealth.

Western Europe comes next with 21.9%, while Eastern Europe accounts for only 3.3%.

Average and median wealth per adult also varies widely across countries, with 18 of the top 30 global economies in terms of average wealth per adult located in Europe. This rises to 19 markets for median wealth.

So which countries are the richest in terms of adult wealth? And how much adult wealth do Europeans have?

As of the end of 2025, Switzerland tops the global list of the top 30 countries 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 euros.

Denmark (€446,959), Norway (€363,303) and the Netherlands (€354,673) are the other European countries in the top 10.

Median wealth per adult is also above the €300,000 mark in Belgium (€348,382) and Sweden (€347,089).

There is no big gap between Europe's major economies

Europe's five largest economies also appear on the list.

Germany ranks higher at 14th, while Italy ranks lower at 23rd, but average wealth levels are not much different.

Germany's average is 296,023 euros compared to 238,653 euros in Italy. France comes next with 291,536 euros, Spain with 261,689 euros and the United Kingdom with 250,071 euros.

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.

Average wealth tells a different story

When wealth for adults is examined by median rather than mean, both the amounts and the rankings change significantly. A median is the middle number in a list ordered from lowest to highest, or from highest to lowest.

"The conclusion we can draw is that each market has a different distribution of wealth, thus appearing richer or poorer depending on the segment of the adult population we examine," the report says.

Luxembourg tops the global average wealth list with €336,498. That's less than half the highest average wealth figure. Belgium comes in second, but the average 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 ranking.

Denmark (€174,029), Switzerland (€124,310) and Norway (€119,569) are the other European countries in the top 10.

Big difference between Europe's five largest economies

The rankings vary widely among Europe's five largest economies. Italy has the highest average wealth per adult at €111,881, ranking 11th globally. Germany, by contrast, has the lowest at €45,679, ranking last globally.

The United Kingdom (€107,042), France (€104,106) and Spain (€95,290) are closer to Italy, making Germany's figure stand out as significantly lower.

When comparing both lists, Slovenia replaces the United Arab Emirates in the average wealth ranking.

Large concentration of extreme wealth

The US ranks third from the bottom with €58,927, compared to second in the average wealth ranking. This is by far the biggest single drop on the list.

Germany also fell 16 places, from 14th to 30th. The drop is also over 10 places in Sweden and Singapore.

These countries rank significantly higher in average wealth than in median wealth, indicating a high concentration of extreme wealth at the top.

Japan moves up 14 places, from 24th to 10th. Malta, Italy, Belgium and the United Kingdom are other countries with significantly higher positions in the average ranking compared to the average. This indicates a larger and more evenly distributed middle class.

The report highlighted that median wealth is known to give a more accurate picture of the wealth levels prevailing in the middle of the scale.

However, all this data tells us nothing about purchasing power.

Looking in broader regional terms, the US clearly has the highest average wealth per adult compared to other regions, including Europe.

In the US, the average wealth is 594,651 euros, while in Western Europe it is less than half that amount. In Western Europe it is 287,884 euros, while in Eastern Europe it drops to 53,055 euros./ CNA