National wealth also net wealth (in Singapore), national net worth, gross national wealth (GNW), and total national wealth is the total sum value of monetary assets minus liabilities of a given nation, also National wealth” refers to the total value of wealth possessed by the citizens of a nation at a set point in time. This figure is an important indicator of a nation's ability to take on debt and sustain spending, and is influenced by not only real estate prices, but also by the stock market, human resources

Human resources

Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...

, technological advancements which may create new assets or render others worthless, national infrastructure and exchange rates. The most significant component by far among most developed nations is commonly reported as household net wealth or worth and reflects infrastructure investment. National wealth can rise and decline, as evidenced in the US data following the 2008 financial crisis.

Differences by country

• In Taiwan, Gross national wealth and net national wealth are two different measures.
• In the USA, the figure regularly reported by the Federal Reserve of the US is household net worth, and includes corporations as they are essentially owned by American households. The United States Federal Reserve previously published the figure total national wealth in the past. However, this figure ignores the current balance of accumulated borrowing and assets of the federal and state governments.
• Japan publishes two figures, gross national assets and net national assets. By gross national assets, Japan reports a figure of 7954 trillion yen ($103 trillion), but claims liabilities of 5242 trillion ($68 trillion) for a net 2712 trillion in 2009. However, these numbers are suspiciously large compared with GDP, only liabilities that could be worth that amount given Japan's ultra low reliance on foreign debt (in government and private sectors) is future promises of healthcare and pension for its aging citizens. Therefore Japan complies extra figures (which other nations do not compile) and makes their figures less meaningful to compare with other nations.

Statistics

The following nations have reported national wealth statistics. Making meaningful comparisons is far from straightforward as the methodology in compiling them varies.
(Russia and Switzerland figures are not issued by the nations themselves, and may be contested by their respective nations. They were compiled by the World Bank).

Country	National wealth (USD, trillion)	National wealth (local currency, trillion)	Population(million)	Current exchange rate (per USD)	per capita wealth(USD)	Year
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...  (households only)	58.5	58.5	312	-	$187,500	2011-Q2
Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	35.22	2,712	127.9	77	$275,377	2009
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	11.39	7.3	62.3	1.56	$182,825	2010-Q4
Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	7.60	7.683	22	1.01	$345,455	2010
South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...	6.185	7,385	48.6	1194	$127,263	2009
Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	6.0	6.4	34.5	1.06	$173,913	2011-Q2
Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	5.61	179.6 (calculated)	145	32	$38,709	2005
Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...	4.23	130.2	23	30.8	$183,794	2009
Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	4.2	4.59 (calculated)	6.5	1.09	$648,200	2005
Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... (household only)	0.886	1.16	5.0	1.31	$177,200	2010

External Sites

• World Bank: Estimating national wealth : methodology and results