Saudi Arabia and the UAE are set to see double digit growth in the number of millionaires in the next five years, according to Credit Suisse.
Its Wealth report 2012 said the number of millionaires in UAE are set to grow by 12 percent. The UAE has 43,000 millionaires, a figure that is set to grow to 48,000 by 2017.
The report also said that Saudi Arabia is set to see growth of 17 percent from 46,000 to 64,000 in the same period.
Both countries are dwarfed by the US – which tops the global list – with the number of US millionaires predicted to grow 53 percent to 16.8 million in the next five years.
The report also showed that the UAE was one of only a handful of countries which had increased the number of its citizens in the world’s wealthiest one percent.
The Gulf state has 70,000 people in the world’s wealthiest one percent this year, up from 65,000 last year.
The US also topped this list with 16.376 million people in the top percentile.
Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium all saw big declines in the past year as the impact of the eurozone crisis impacted.
According to the report, the UAE was also in the world’s top ten for increases in the number of US dollar millionaires – up 3,000 over past year to 43,000. Spain declined most with 87,000 fewer in 2012 compared to 2011.
Overall, Credit Suisse estimated that global household wealth in mid-2012 totalled $223trn at current exchange rates, equivalent to $49,000 per adult globally.
Looking ahead, and assuming moderate and stable economic growth, it said it expects total household wealth to rise by almost 50% in the next five years from $223trn in 2012 to $330trn in 2017.
The number of millionaires worldwide is expected to increase by about 18 million, reaching 46 million in 2017, with China to surpass Japan as the second wealthiest country in the world behind the US.
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