China trails the world in per capita financial assets

Gross financial assets of private households in Asia grew by 9.7 percent in 2017, while global gross financial assets increased by 7.7 percent. Growth rates in Asia were the highest among the most populous countries with China leading regional growth at a rate of 14 percent.

In terms of the distribution of the financial assets among Asian countries, inequality prevails. At the end of 2017, Chinese households held around half of all gross financial assets in Asia, while Japanese households accounted for almost a third (ten years ago, 60 percent of total gross financial assets were held in Japan while Chinese households owned only 20 percent).

However, the comparison of countries’ total amounts of gross financial assets of their private households or the assets’ national growth rate provides quite a limited understanding of economic development. Comparing gross financial assets per capita gives a very different picture in both an international and a regional context. Gross financial assets per capita came to the equivalent of 17,220 euros in China in 2017. Although the amount was above the regional average of 14,670 euros per capita, this was only about half the global average.