Korea ranks 10th globally in number of millionaires, report finds

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Korea ranks 10th globally in number of millionaires, report finds

Published: 19 Jun. 2025, 17:28 Updated: 19 Jun. 2025, 20:18

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A photo illustration shows a Russian ruble coin and a U.S. dollar banknote in Moscow, Russia, on April 1, 2022. [EPA/YONHAP]

Korea ranked 10th in the world in terms of the number of millionaires last year, with more than 1.3 million individuals holding assets of at least $1 million, according to a report released by Swiss investment bank UBS.

In its 2025 Global Wealth Report, published on Wednesday, UBS found that 1,301,000 people in Korea had assets exceeding $1 million, an increase from 1,295,674 the previous year.

The United States topped the list among the 56 advanced and developing economies surveyed, with 23,831,000 millionaires, accounting for 39.7 percent of the global total. That figure was nearly four times greater than the number in China, which ranked second with 6,327,000 millionaires.

The number of millionaires in the United States also exceeded the combined total of those in France with 2,897,000, Japan with 2,732,000, Germany with 2,675,000 and the U.K. with 2,624,000 — which ranked third through sixth, respectively.

Canada, Australia and Italy followed in seventh through ninth places with 2,098,000, 1,904,000 and 1,344,000 millionaires, respectively, ahead of Korea.

Other countries where the number of millionaires surpassed 1 million included the Netherlands with 1,267,000, Spain with 1,202,000 and Switzerland with 1,119,000.

By region, Brazil had the highest number of millionaires in South America with 433,000, followed by Mexico with 399,000.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and Korea were followed by Taiwan with 759,000, Hong Kong with 647,000 and Singapore with 331,000.

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia led with 339,000 millionaires, trailed by the United Arab Emirates with 240,000 and Israel with 186,000.

Globally, the total number of millionaires was estimated at around 60 million, with their combined assets totaling $226.47 trillion.

The United States saw the largest annual increase in millionaires last year, adding 379,000 — a pace equivalent to about 1,000 new millionaires per day, including weekends. China followed with 386 new millionaires per day.

UBS projected that more than 5 million new millionaires would emerge worldwide until 2029, driven largely by continued growth in the United States.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]