20 Wealthiest Countries in Asia

Ali Hassan
9 min read

In This Article:

In this article, we will discuss the 20 wealthiest countries in Asia. If you want to skip the detailed analysis of the wealthiest Asian countries, click 5 Wealthiest Countries in Asia.

Asia's Wealth and Economy

Global wealth consists of all the assets including monetary assets and non-financial assets in all areas of the world. According to Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Report 2023, Asia is the wealthiest continent with a total wealth reported at around $177.82 trillion, including India and China, as of 2022. China alone had a total wealth of almost $84.48 trillion in 2022. The average wealth per adult in Asia-Pacific was $61,154, while China and India had a wealth per adult of $75,731 and $16,500 in 2022, respectively. Asia accounted for almost 39% of the total global wealth in 2022. The average growth rate of wealth per adult between 2000 and 2022 in Asia-Pacific was 4.06%, while it was 12.21% and 7.49% in China and India, respectively. Comparatively, the global average wealth per adult growth rate in the same period was 4.86%.

Some of the richest countries in Asia are also some of the wealthiest countries in the world. China, Japan, and India rank among the countries that have the highest share of global wealth. China’s global wealth share was around 18.6% and Japan’s global wealth share was 5% in 2022. China and India have experienced the highest average increase in the share of the top 1% between 2000 and 2022. The average growth rate of the share of the top 1% in China and India was 1.92% and 0.89%, respectively. The average growth rate of the share of the top 1% in North America stood at a mere 0.12% during the same period.

In 2022, there were almost 9.76 million millionaires, while China and India had 6.23 million and 849,000 millionaires. Asia has seen a rise in the number of billionaires as well. Mumbai has emerged as the third-largest city with the highest number of billionaires at 92, surpassing Beijing with 91, as per Hurun Research’s 2024 Global Rich List. Other cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and New Delhi are among the leading cities with the most number of billionaires in 2024. Shanghai has 87, Shenzhen has 84, Hong Kong has 65, and New Delhi has 57 billionaires.

The increase in wealth in Asian countries over the years has been driven by improving economic conditions across developing countries. In Asia and the Pacific, economic activity outperformed expectations in the second half of 2023, as per the IMF's regional outlook. The region experienced an economic growth of 5% in 2023, a 0.4% improvement from the IMF’s October 2023 forecast. Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines stand out with the economic growth and are on track to record growth rates of 5.7%, 6.8%, and 6.2% in 2024. In 2025, these countries are projected to grow further at 6.6%, 6.5%, and 6.2%, respectively. Other major economies including Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore are all on track for positive growth in 2024 and 2025. These countries are also some of the wealthiest countries by per capita net worth.

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