We all know that the ultra-rich from all over the world, especially Asia, like to relocate to Singapore.
There is a myriad of factors to attract them — from the ease of setting up family offices to the high-paying professional jobs in a global financial hub.
Singstat released some interesting data in June 2024. The total net worth of the Singapore household rose 8% to just under $2.858 trillion as of March 2024.
What is the average household net worth in Singapore?
There are about 1.425 million resident households in Singapore, either citizens or Permanent Residents.
A simple average of $2.858 trillion household net worth divided by the number of resident households gives you about an average $2 million net worth per household.
We know Singapore is among the richest countries in the world. It climbed 2 places to 4th place for the highest number of millionaires in the world, in a 2024 Henley and Partners research report. Over the past 10 years, the number of millionaires have increased 64% in Singapore.
Not all of the millionaires are homegrown, however. About 3,400 HNW individuals moved to Singapore in 2023 alone. That said, out of the 244,800 resident millionaires, 336 centi-millionaires and 30 billionaires, we must assume a good proportion of them are local Singaporeans.
Is an average $2 million household net worth accurate?
Quite simply, the average of $2 million isn’t accurate or representative. Statistically speaking, a median is far more representative than an average.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the median household net worth in Singapore is only half of the average.
Taking an average just means dividing a total net worth by number of households. Taking the median involves ranking the households from richest to poorest. Then taking the 50th percentile of household, right in the middle of the population ranking, and looking at its net worth.
This statistical method of measuring a country’s median household net worth is far more representative and detailed.
What is the average net worth of an individual in Singapore in 2024?
The average net worth of an individual in Singapore is $516,991, according to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2023.
However, the median net worth of an individual in Singapore is far lower, at $134,308.
What accounts for the big difference?
Simply put, it is the wealthiest billionaire and centi-millionaire households, skewing the average net worth upwards.
A median net worth number is more accurate, because it excludes this skew.
What constitutes the Singapore household?
All household institutional units that have engaged in economic activities in Singapore for at least a year, including: Singapore citizens, permanent residents, foreigners, and unincorporated enterprises (e.g., sole proprietorships).
Singstat
The total household net worth in Singapore of $2.858 trillion in 2024 includes all households, including Singaporean and foreigner, and even sole proprietorships.
While we have the number of resident households in Singapore, we don’t have an accurate number of foreign households.
It is fair to assume that some of these foreign households would be in the UHNW category, skewing the numbers upwards.
Is the millionaire household representative of Singapore?
This is a tricky question to answer, so I’ll simply fall back on statistics.
According to the Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2023, ~6.7% of the Singapore population is a millionaire (with net worth above US$1 million or SGD$1.36 million).
If you strip out the value of the primary residence (i.e. an asset rich, cash poor person’s landed property), the number of millionaires in Singapore (with investable income of US$1 million) falls even further to 4% of the population.
This number is fewer than half the number of people living in poverty in Singapore.
About 796,320 adults in Singapore have less than $13,500 in wealth, according to the Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2023. This constitutes ~16% of the Singapore population.
The bulk (~77.2%) of the Singapore population has a net worth between US$10,000 to US$1 million. That’s about 3.8 million people i.e. the vast majority of the people you will meet in Singapore.
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