Qatar’s average wealth per adult is the highest in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a new report by Credit Suisse.
The Gulf state’s figure of $146,623 has seen an almost six-fold rise since the turn of the 21st century, Qatar daily Gulf Times reported, citing the study by Credit Suisse Research Institute.
Debt per adult had also risen about nine-fold between 2000 and 2010, the report added.
Kuwait was ranked second in the region in the latest estimate with the average wealth per adult of $134,592, a 156 percent growth since 2000.
Credit Suisse ranked the UAE in third place with a 104 percent increase on 2000 to $115,774.
Among the largest economies in the region, Saudi Arabia’s average wealth per adult rose only 56 percent to reach $35,959 while Egypt’s wealth per adult climbed 47 percent to $10,421.
The report said that in 2000, Qatar’s per adult wealth was just $26,381 while debt per adult was estimated at $1,889.
It added that Qatar’s population was estimated at 1.57m, and the country’s total wealth was calculated as $0.2tn, which was 0.08 percent of total world wealth.
The report also said Qatar’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was $109,881 and the country contributed 0.25 percent to the world’s GDP in 2011.
While the average wealth per adult of many Mena countries saw substantial growth in 2011 compared to the past year, Egypt was one of the countries for which growth remained stagnant, it said.
Total global wealth increased 14 percent to $231tn between January 2010 and June 2011, Credit Suisse said, adding emerging markets remained the main wealth growth engine with the fastest growth seen in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Last month, estimates from the International Monetary Fund showed Qatar had surpassed Luxembourg as the world’s richest nation in 2010 and was set to pull away with wealth that’s almost twice that of the US.
Qatar’s gross domestic product per capita at $88,221 in 2010, beating Luxembourg for the top spot, according to IMF data.
The figure may reach $111,963 by 2016, surpassing Luxembourg’s $94,621 and Singapore’s $70,992, the IMF said.
US GDP per capita is forecast at $55,622 in five years, from $46,860 in 2010.
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