This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu, shows the top 20 countries according to average (mean) wealth and median wealth, using data sourced from the UBS Global Wealth Report 2024.

Comparing countries by these two different metrics reveals insights into wealth distribution and inequality.

Average vs. Median Wealth: What’s the Difference?

Average wealth is the total wealth of a country’s people divided by the size of its population. Also known as a mean average, this measurement can be skewed by extremely high values such as the presence of billionaires.

Median wealth represents the middle value of wealth, when everyone’s wealth is arranged in order. This measurement is less affected by massive outliers.

Data and Key Takeaways

The numbers we used to create this graphic are listed in the table below.

One outlier from this graphic is the U.S., which ranks highly in average wealth but much lower in terms of median wealth.

The country has an average wealth of $565,000 per person (4th highest), yet a median wealth of $112,000 per person (14th highest).

This suggests that a large amount of wealth is concentrated among a small group of individuals (who pull up the mean average), and that the majority of the population actually has much less.

Countries that rank highly in both metrics, such as Luxembourg or Denmark, likely have a more even wealth distribution.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this graphic showing how global wealth has changed since 2000.