Updated November 23, 2018 11:36:31

It might not feel like it to a lot of Australians, but we have just overtaken Switzerland as the wealthiest people in the world.

In its Global Wealth Report 2018, Credit Suisse puts the median adult wealth of Australians at $US191,453 ($264,903).

That means half of Australians are wealthier than that, and half are not.

Credit Suisse says the typical Australian's position is thanks to high average wealth — courtesy of our compulsory superannuation system and high property prices — combined with relatively low wealth inequality.

The report also notes that Australia's reliance on property prices (60 per cent of our assets are "non-financial") is higher than a lot of other places.

Globally, the median wealth per adult is $US4,210 ($5,820).

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Topics: economic-trends, human-interest, australia

First posted November 23, 2018 11:30:03