The UAE is expected to see an increase in the number of dollar millionaires by 62 per cent in the in the next five years, Credit Suisse said on Monday.
The UAE, which currently has 59,000 dollar millionaires, will witness the population of the rich surging to 96,000 by 2020. Saudi Arabia's millionaire population is projected to jump at the highest pace of 72 per cent to 86,000 in 2020 from 50,000 in 2015.
Overall, Middle East and North Africa countries have an estimated 330,000 millionaires (as of 2015), up by more than 240 per cent since 2000. The number of millionaires is projected to rise by another 52 per cent to 500,000 by 2020, the Credit Suisse Research Institute said in its sixth annual Global Wealth Report.
The UAE also recorded the second-highest average wealth per adult in the Middle East while the country's total household wealth reached $600 billion.
Qatar posted the highest average wealth per adult of $157,000 in mid-2015, growing 0.8 per cent from the same period last year, while the UAE followed closely with $144,400, but declined 0.3 per cent from last year. Qatar occupied 21st place globally in terms of average wealth, up from 29th in 2000.
In the Mena region, the average wealth per adult declined by 6.9 per cent to $15,800 in mid-2015, from $16,900 in mid-2014. However, this decline is largely due to weakness in exchange rates, the report said.
In total household wealth, Saudi Arabia ranked first among GCC economies, with an estimated total wealth of $700 billion.
Household wealth in the Mena totalled $4.4 trillion in mid-2015, down 2.2 per cent since mid-2014. In constant currency terms, however, net wealth increased by 1.7 per cent, said the study.
Globally, household wealth fell by $13 trillion from mid-2014 to mid-2015 mainly due to the dollar appreciation. If measured at constant exchange rates, global wealth would have risen by $13 trillion since last year. The United States once again led the world with a substantial rise in household wealth of $4.6 trillion. China also posted a large annual rise of $1.5 trillion. The number of dollar millionaires worldwide is projected to increase by 46 per cent in the next five years, reaching 49.3 million by mid-2020.
"We are clearly in a growth industry, with wealth set to continue its upward trajectory. By our estimates, wealth could grow at an annual rate of 6.6 per cent, reaching $345 trillion in 2020," Michael O'Sullivan, chief investment officer for the UK and Eemea of private banking and wealth management at Credit Suisse.
"Furthermore, the number of dollar millionaires could exceed 49.3 million adults in 2020, a rise of more than 46.2 per cent, with China likely to see the largest percentage increase and Africa as the next performing region," he said.
The Credit Suisse Research Institute estimates that there are 123,800 ultra-high net worth individuals, or UNHWs, worldwide, defined as those with a networth exceeding $50 million. Of these, 44,900 are worth at least $100 million and 4,500 have assets above $500 million. "The strong dollar has reduced the number of UNHW adults by 800 since mid-2014, but our calculations suggest that there has been a small increase in the number of individuals owning more than $500 million."