For global research, including Croatia, BCG used data based on the Global System of National Accounts (SNA), obtained from central and commercial banks.

In the Republic of Croatia, there are approximately one thousand people who have a personal financial wealth of more than 20 million dollars, while the personal financial wealth of the vast majority of the population (3.3 million citizens) does not reach 250 thousand dollars, reveals the Global Wealth Report 2023 ) published by the Boston Consulting Group.

For global research, including Croatia, BCG used data based on the Global System of National Accounts (SNA), obtained from central and commercial banks.

The obtained data show that slightly less than 20 thousand citizens of Croatia own financial assets worth between 250 thousand and one million dollars, while approximately 4100 citizens of the Republic of Croatia own financial assets between one and twenty million dollars.

According to available data, financial wealth in Croatia grew in the period from 2017 to the end of 2022 at an annual rate of 7.1 percent and reached approximately one hundred billion dollars, or 0.1 trillion, and it is expected that from the end of 2022 to 2027 to grow at an annual rate of approx. 5.9 percent.

Croatia’s share in the total financial wealth of the Eastern European region amounted to only 2.1 percent at the end of 2022. It is important to emphasize that according to asset classes, financial wealth does not include the so-called real assets, specifically real estate, consumer durables such as cars and ships, as well as non-monetary gold or other precious metals.

As for real assets, i.e. real estate, consumer durables, non-monetary gold and other precious metals, the value of this asset class grew in the period from 2017 to 2022 at an annual rate of five percent and reached approx. $200 billion, according to data compiled by BCG.

“The distribution of financial wealth in Croatia shows a much healthier and more egalitarian picture, as around 75 percent of the total financial wealth is owned by those with less than USD 250,000, while at the global level it is only 32 percent, and ultra-rich people, who have over USD 20 million in financial wealth wealth, they own only 6 percent of the total financial wealth in Croatia, in contrast to more than 20 percent in the world,” said Tomislav Corak, director and partner of BCG.

“Croatia also stands out for its high share of financial wealth in long-term pension and life insurance (29 percent compared to the Eastern European average of 9 percent). At the same time, deposits and cash represent 50 percent of the total wealth of the Croatian people, above the Eastern European (46 percent) and world (30 percent) numbers. In such an environment of high inflation, this could result in losses of the real value of personal wealth”, added  Corak.

In contrast to the Republic of Croatia, where the financial wealth of individuals in 2022 compared to 2021 grew at a rate of five percent, last year it fell by four percent at the global level, for the first time in 15 years. Global financial wealth is 255 trillion dollars, and the decline is expected to be short-lived, as wealth is expected to recover by the end of this year, i.e. a growth of five percent, to 267 trillion dollars.

The causes of the fall in the value of financial assets at the global level are inflation and the rise of interest rates, poor results on the capital markets that were a consequence of the geopolitical uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine.

What is positive about the last year, according to BCG, is that cash and deposits in banks increased by 6.2 percent, thanks to the decision of individuals to devote themselves to riskier investments.

Globally, the total value of real assets – real estate, consumer durables, gold and other precious metals – increased, so total global wealth increased by one percent. The value of real assets, which includes assets such as real estate, consumer durables and art, also rose 5.5 percent to $261 trillion. So that brought total absolute global wealth to $516 trillion in 2022, an increase of 1 percent compared to 2021.

Regions grow at different rates

Financial wealth continued to grow in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America in 2022, but fell in North America and Europe. Additionally, as is often the case in the context of macroeconomic uncertainty, offshore wealth is expected to grow by 4.8 percent in 2022 to $12 trillion globally.

Hong Kong is expected to overtake Switzerland as the world’s largest private banking center by the end of 2025 thanks to a high rate of growth in assets under management.

Singapore also joins as a strong contender, seen as a safe gateway to the Asia-Pacific region. The UAE has attracted funds from various regions, including Eastern Europe, and is projected to experience a healthy 10 percent growth rate in its financial wealth over the next five years.