Methodology

How WealthPercentile estimates where an income or a net worth ranks among 5.5 billion adults in 77 countries and territories — what the numbers mean, where they come from and how far you can trust them.

What the numbers mean

When the calculator says you are in the top 5%, it means that about 5% of adults in the group you chose have more net worth (or income) than the amount you entered, and 95% have less. Adults are people aged 20 and over. The group can be the whole world, the European Union or a single country.

The figures are model estimates, not a register of real people. Nobody’s personal data is used, and the amount you type never leaves your browser.

What we measure

Net worth

Everything a person owns at current market value — homes and other property, bank deposits, shares, funds, business ownership and funded pension savings where the source includes them — minus all debt. Household wealth is split equally between the adults in the household, following the World Inequality Database convention. If you share your finances with a partner, enter the joint amount and tick joint amount: the calculator then counts your half.

Income

For cross-country comparison we use pre-tax national income per adult as defined by the World Inequality Database: wages, business income, pensions and capital income, plus some components that never reach a payslip, such as retained company profits and the imputed rent of owner-occupied homes. Because this measure is broader than taxable income, a typical salary ranks lower here than in national tax statistics. Where we use national statistics instead (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom and the United States), we say so next to the result.

Currency

Each country’s distribution is kept in its own currency, so a rank within a country does not depend on exchange rates. Comparisons across countries use the European Central Bank’s reference rates of 2026-10-09 (for example 1 EUR = 10.7155 NOK = 1.1206 USD). Countries whose currency the ECB does not publish are converted at WID’s 2025 average market rate, and Morocco and Uruguay keep the rate of 31 December 2025. The conversion is not adjusted for differences in living costs (PPP), so the same amount buys more in some countries than others.

Data sources

The model combines international and national sources. Each source is used for a specific purpose:

World Inequality Database data are used under CC BY 4.0. No person-level rich lists are used.

How the model is built

Each of the 77 countries and territories gets its own distribution curve for net worth and for income. Eight regional residuals cover the remaining adult population, so the world total adds up without double counting. The world ranking is simply the sum of all countries.

1. Shape. For every country we use the World Inequality Database’s 127 “generalized percentiles” for 2024: the threshold and the average for each percentile from the poorest 1% up to the richest 0.001%, for income and for net worth. Between these points the curve is interpolated; nothing is smoothed away.
2. Level. The curve is scaled to WID’s 2025 average income and average net worth per adult, in the country’s own currency. The distribution shape is assumed unchanged from 2024 to 2025.
3. The very top. Within the richest 0.001% the curve follows a Pareto tail aimed at WID’s average for that group, with the tail’s steepness capped so the richest values stay plausible. Where WID’s average is higher than such a tail can hold (often in small countries with a few very large fortunes), that part is left out of the curve; national averages still use WID’s totals. For nine of the ten countries with the most billionaires the tail also matches the Forbes 2026 count (Hong Kong’s 71 billionaires do not fit in WID’s top 0.001% group, about 64 adults, so its tail follows WID). In total the model has about 3,100 adults above USD 1 billion.
4. Currency. Curves stay in local currency and are converted at ECB reference rates only when countries are compared or combined.
5. Rest of the world. Eight regional residuals cover the adults not living in the 77 countries, so the world total adds up. Their shapes are borrowed from similar countries and carry a weaker data-quality score.

National statistics

For some countries the calculator ranks you against official person-level statistics instead of the model, because these are closer to what people see in their own tax return:

• Norway — Statistics Norway: personal gross income before tax (2024, residents 17+) and personal net worth with homes at estimated market value. Income can also be compared within an age group (17–24 up to 67 and over).
• Denmark — Statistics Denmark: total pre-tax income per person aged 20+, 2025.
• Finland — Finnish Tax Administration: total income before tax per person aged 18+, tax year 2024.
• United Kingdom — HM Revenue & Customs (Survey of Personal Incomes): total income before tax, tax year 2023–24. Below the personal allowance (£12,570) ranks are approximate.
• Sweden — Statistics Sweden (SCB): total earned income before tax per person aged 20+, 2024.
• United States — US Census Bureau (CPS ASEC 2025): total money income before tax per person aged 18+, 2024.

National income concepts are narrower than the international one (no retained company profits, employer contributions or imputed rents), so the same salary ranks higher here. National data are used only for ranks within that country; the world ranking and the country comparison always use the harmonized model. Above the highest published income interval, national distributions are extended with a Pareto tail.

Germany has no comparable official distribution of total income per person: its income-tax statistics count jointly assessed couples as one taxpayer and lag several years, so Germany uses the model. For net worth by age, Statistics Norway only publishes taxable values (homes at a fraction of market value), which order people too differently from market values to be used reliably.

Data quality scores

Every country is scored separately for income and net worth, from 1 (strong direct source) to 5 (mainly modelled). Since v11 all curves come from WID’s percentile estimates; the score describes how much direct national data stands behind them — at score 5, WID itself fills most gaps from similar countries. For net worth: 16 countries at 2, 43 countries at 3, 18 countries at 5. The scores describe how the curve is built, not a statistical error margin.

See the score for every country on the country list.

Uncertainty

Results show a model range in addition to the central estimate. The range comes from alternative curve shapes, levels and population assumptions. It is a sensitivity range, not a confidence interval. Uncertainty is largest at the very top, in countries with a weak data-quality score, and around zero net worth.

Limitations

• Definitions differ between countries — for example whether pension rights, cars or household contents count as wealth.
• Household wealth is split equally between adults; real ownership within couples can differ.
• Distributions are for 2024 and levels are WID nowcasts for 2025. In countries with high inflation (for example Turkey or Argentina) local-currency amounts drift quickly.
• Exchange rates are a fixed snapshot (2026-10-09) and are updated periodically, not daily.
• The extreme top is modelled. Ranks among the richest few thousand people are approximate by design.

Change log

• October 2026 (v11). Every country curve rebuilt from the World Inequality Database’s 127-percentile data (2026 update) instead of four published shares; levels updated to WID’s 2025 averages; exchange rates updated to ECB rates of 2026-10-09; national income statistics added for Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom and the United States; age groups for Norwegian income; option to split a joint amount with a partner. Norway’s top 1% net worth threshold in the model now matches Statistics Norway closely (about NOK 19 million).
• October 2026 (v10). Wealth curves above the median refitted with a smooth Pareto shape (removes flat stretches in the earlier fit); Norway uses Statistics Norway in the calculator; person-level rich lists removed.
• September 2026 (v9). Coverage extended to 77 countries and territories; data-quality review of every country.

The full technical documentation — validation tests, national source tracks, distribution curves and model inputs — is available in the advanced tool.