How much of the country’s wealth is held by the richest 1%?

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Earlier, we looked at the percentage of European adults that are USD millionaires and the median wealth per adult. Those two maps already gave us some great insights. We know how much wealth the average adult has in each country and what percentage of the population is a millionaire.

Today’s map will look at how much wealth is in the hands of the country’s wealthiest 1%. Together with the other 2 maps, it gives us a great insight in the wealth inequality.

The country that stands out straight away, is Russia. The Russian 1% holds far more of the country’s wealth than the 1% in any other country in Europe. 56.4% of Russia’s total household wealth is in the hands of only 1% of the population. This is by far the highest percentage in the world. With a median wealth of $8,595 (2nd lowest in Europe) and only 0.4% of adults being a USD millionaire (3rd lowest in Europe), the wealth inequality in Russia is by far the worst in Europe.

The 1% in Turkey (39.5%), Czech Republic (37.8%) and Sweden (35.8%) also hold a significantly higher percentage of the country’s wealth compared to other European countries. Nowhere near as high as Russia though. Turkey has the lowest median wealth ($5,488) and the lowest share of millionaires in Europe (0.1%). Meaning that the wealth inequality is also pretty bad in Turkey.

Sweden has a much higher median wealth ($77,515) and share of millionaires (5.9%, the fourth highest in Europe), making it’s wealth distribution more equal. Although the Czech Republic has a much higher median wealth ($23,502) and share of millionaires (0.9%) compared to Turkey and Russia, it’s still quite a bit lower than Sweden.

For most of Europe, the wealthiest 1% holds less than 30% or even less than 25% of the country’s household wealth. The Belgian 1% holds by far the smallest share of the country’s wealth, 13.5%. This is not just the lowest in Europe, but worldwide. Belgium also has the third highest median wealth in Europe ($249,937) and fourth highest share of millionaires (5.9%). Meaning that Belgium has one of the most equal wealth distributions in Europe.

Data for this map comes from the 2023 Global Wealth Report by UBS.