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Report: Switzerland is no longer world’s richest country

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Report: Switzerland is no longer world’s richest country
Photo: Christof Sonderegger/Swiss Tourism

The US has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s richest country in terms of wealth per household, according to a study by financial services provider Allianz.

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The eighth edition of its Global Wealth Report, released on Wednesday, studied the asset and debt situation of households in more than 50 countries during 2016.
 
Traditionally top of the global list, Switzerland was bumped into second place by the US in the report’s ranking of net per capita financial assets. 
 
Switzerland’s net per capita financial assets rose by 2.7 percent in 2016 to 175,720 euros, while the US saw growth of 5.8 percent to take it to 177,210 euros. 
 
Allianz acknowledged in a press release that the America’s lead was “razor-thin”, adding that “some of the credit goes to a stronger dollar”. 
 
Japan retained its third position, with Scandinavian and Asian countries dominating the top 20.
 
The next richest European country after Switzerland was Sweden, on 95,050 euros net per capita
 
Switzerland did retain top position globally in the list of gross per capita financial assets. 
 
However it also topped the debt table for western Europe with a figure of 93,120 euros per capita, far ahead of the next most indebted European country, Norway, on 69,560 euros per capita.
 
Worldwide, gross financial assets grew by 7.1 percent to a new record high of 170 trillion euros said Allianz.
 
Global household debt rose by 5.5 percent in 2016, the highest increase since 2007, though the picture varied widely between regions.
 
Despite the steep rise in debt, net financial assets (gross assets minus debt) rose to a new high of 128.5 trillion euros globally, a 7.6 percent increase, well above the previous year’s growth.

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