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In Europe, Hungary saw the largest increase in citizens’ affluence last year, followed by Lithuania and Sweden, according to a new report from multinational investment bank UBS, writes euronews.com.
Wealth per adult rose in the vast majority of European countries between 2023 and 2024, while it declined in a few, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2025.
The changes, measured in local currencies, are presented as both average and median values — with the analysis focusing on the median, as it is not distorted by extreme outliers, while briefly mentioning averages.
Hungary recorded the highest real growth in median wealth per adult between 2023 and 2024, with an increase of 18.6%.
Several other countries also saw gains of 15% or more, including Lithuania (16.9%), Sweden (15.3%), Italy and Latvia (both 15%).
Among EU Member States, EU candidates, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, and the UK, only Türkiye and Belgium saw declines in median wealth per adult. Türkiye stood out with a sharp drop of 20.9%, while Belgium had a more modest decline of 5.6%.
Photo: Pixabay
Among the five largest European economies, Italy recorded the highest real growth in wealth per adult (15%), while the UK had the lowest (5.3%). France rose by 10.3%, Germany by 9.5%, and Spain by 9%.
Looking at average wealth instead of the median, several European countries saw declines. Türkiye (-14.6%) and Belgium (-0.3%) recorded smaller drops compared to their median values. Luxembourg (-1.3%), Estonia (-2.3%), France (-1.8%), and the UK (-3.6%) also experienced declines.
In Europa verzeichnete Ungarn im vergangenen Jahr den größten Vermögenssprung seiner Bürger, gefolgt von Litauen und Schweden. Dies geht aus einem neuen Bericht der multinationalen Investmentbank UBS hervor.#PATRIOTS https://t.co/9drGIVvvbk pic.twitter.com/5Bg1coI4KC
— Harald Vilimsky (@vilimsky) July 28, 2025
Looking at real wealth changes per adult from early 2020, to the end of 2024, some long-term trends emerge. Austria stands out with a median wealth drop of 18%, followed by the Netherlands (-2.3%) and Estonia (-0.1%).
In Switzerland, for example, a slight decline in average wealth was accompanied by a 14% increase in median wealth. In Italy, the figures were -10% average vs. +5% median.
“These differences point to slower wealth growth at the top end of the spectrum compared to the middle of the wealth distribution,” according to the report.
This same trend was also observed in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Via euronews.com; Featured image: Pexels