China ranks 3rd in world for household wealth

China has become the third richest country in terms of household wealth, the Switzerland based Credit Suisse Research Institute reported Wednesday.

According to the Global Fortune Report 2013 issued by the institute, Chinese personal wealth quadrupled from US$5,700 in 2000 to US$22,230 in 2013, putting China in line with the United States and Germany.

According to the report, the global fortune climbed 4.9 percent to US$241 trillion from the middle of 2012 to the middle of 2013.

It also forecast that the global fortune would rise 40 percent to US$334 trillion in the next five years, with an annual growth of 6.7 percent. It is also reported that 29 percent of the growth is attributed to the emerging economies, and China is estimated to contribute nearly 50 percent to the growth.

According to Japanese KitcoNews, the proportion of the world economy taken up by China will increase from 9.2 percent to 10.7 percent of the global fortune by 2018. It is expected to reach US$35.9 trillion, with an annual average growth of 10.1 percent.

China"s household wealth is two percent lower than Japan, the second richest country and 56 percent higher than France, the fourth on the list.

The overall wealth disparity of China remains moderate, about 42 percent of adults in China have more than US$10,000. The number of Chinese residents owning US$50 million is higher than the rest of countries in the world, second only to the United States.

The report also revealed that following the global economic downturn, many emerging markets started to slow. Brazil and Russia are affected by the depreciated currencies, while Mexico has maintained rapid growth.

An Associated Press report emphasized the disparity in wealth remains a big problem. The richest 10 percent of the global population possess 86 percent of the global fortune and the poorest, almost half of the population, have no more than one percent of the wealth.

In Russia, about 110 families own 35 percent of household wealth, one of the sharpest disparities, second only to some Caribbean islands.