'India 6th wealthiest country with total wealth of $8,230 billion'

India has been ranked sixth in the list of wealthiest countries with total wealth of USD 8,230 billion, while the United States topped the chart, says a report.

According to a report by New World Wealth, the United States is the wealthiest country in the world as the total wealth held in 2017 amounted to USD 64,584 billion, followed by China at the second place with USD 24,803 billion and Japan with USD 19,522 billion at third.

Total wealth, refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country/city. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities. The report, however, excludes government funds from its figures.

Others in the list include United Kingdom (4th, USD 9,919 billion), Germany (5th, USD 9,660 billion), France (7th, USD 6,649 billion), Canada (8th, USD 6,393 billion), Australia (9th, USD 6,142 billion) and Italy (10th, USD 4,276 billion).

The report further noted that India was the best performing wealth market globally in 2017 as its total wealth swelled from USD 6,584 billion in 2016 to USD 8,230 billion in 2017, registering a 25 per cent growth.

Meanwhile, during the period under consideration China's wealth saw an increase of 22 per cent and global wealth rose by 12 per cent (from USD 192 trillion at the end of 2016 to USD 215 trillion at the end of 2017).

Over the past decade (2007-2017) India's total wealth increased from USD 3,165 billion in 2007 to USD 8,230 billion in 2017, a jump of 160 per cent.

The report further noted that India, is home to 3,30,400 HNWIs (individuals with USD 1 million or more in net assets).

Globally, India was ranked 9th in this aspect while US topped the list with 50,47,400 HNWIs (high-net-worth individuals).

India is also home to 20,730 multi-millionaires, 7th largest in the world. And in terms of resident billionaires, India with 119 such individuals was named among the top three countries globally, after the US and China.

A billionaire is defined as an individuals with USD 1 billion or more in net assets.

"In general, it was a good year for all W10 (wealthiest 10) markets, thanks to strong global stock market gains - the MSCI world index was up 23 per cent and the Dow Jones (DJIA) was up 26 per cent during the year (in USD terms)," the report said, adding "wealth held in China, India, USA, Japan and Australia all grew strongly over the past year".