Only the richest ten per cent managed to increase their share of total net wealth in Finland between 1993 and 2016, indicate data published by Statistics Finland.
The wealthiest 10 per cent of Finnish households have increased their share of total net wealth in Finland.
Statistics Finland on Tuesday revealed that the wealthiest decile held 46.8 per cent of net household wealth in Finland in 2016, signalling an increase of 6.4 percentage points from 1993 and one of 1.6 percentage points from 2013. Households in all other income deciles have contrastively seen their share of total net wealth decrease since 1993.
The poorest half of households saw their share of total net wealth fall from 6.9 per cent in 1993 to 6.1 per cent in 2016. The 40 per cent of households that fall between the richest decile and five poorest deciles similarly recorded decreases of 1.5–1.8 percentage points in their share of total net wealth in 1993–2016.
The net wealth of a household is calculated by deducting its debt from the total value of its real and financial assets.
Statistics Finland also reported that the most common types of household assets are deposits, transport equipment, homes, and listed and mutual shares. Well over a half (58%) of households had debts, and for almost a fifth (18%) of such households the debt burden was equivalent to at least 300 per cent of their annual income.
Households with a debt-to-income ratio exceeding 300 per cent made up only a few per cent of indebted households at the end of the 1990s, according to the statistical bureau.
The median household net wealth stood at 107,200 euros in 2016, whereas the average household net wealth stood at 206,600 euros due to the concentration of wealth to the wealthiest 10 per cent. A quarter of households had a net wealth of over 260,900 euros and another quarter a net wealth of less than 10,700 euros.
People aged 64–74 were the wealthiest and those aged 16–24 and 25–34 the poorest age groups in Finland in 2016.
Statistics Finland conducts its household wealth survey every three years.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Teemu Salonen – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
