Wealth concentrated in hands of a few · 2006-12-06 17:57
A UN survey revealed that 2 per cent of adults command more than half of the world’s wealth, while the bottom 50 per cent possesses just 1 per cent.
While income is distributed unequally across the globe, geographically wealth is concentrated in North America, Europe and some countries of Asia-Pacific, such as Japan and Australia.
“People in these countries collectively hold almost 90 per cent of total world wealth,” the survey said.
Institute director Anthony Shorrocks said if the world’s population was reduced to a group of 10 people, one person would hold $99 and the remaining nine would share $1, reports ABC net.
Average per capita net assets in Japan were $181,000, while in the United States the average was $144,000.
At the bottom of the list came nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, with capital of less than $200 per head.
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