The
UAE has become the world's fifth richest country per capital measured by the
value of its built environment according to the latest Global Built Asset
Wealth Index published by Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy
firm for natural and built assets. The UAE makes up the top five behind Qatar,
Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, with built assets of $140,500 for every
citizen.
The index, which was compiled for
Arcadis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), calculates
the value of all the buildings and infrastructure that contribute to economic
productivity in 32 countries, which collectively make up 87 per cent of global
GDP.
"The health and wealth of a
nation can be measured in many different ways and while factors such as GDP or
employment have great value, a prosperous society is underpinned by a
well-developed built environment that meets the needs of its people and
economy," said Alan Richell, head of Business Advisory in the Middle East
at Arcadis. "To date, Dubai alone has built 190 skyscrapers since the
millennium and is developing its economic diversification plans even further in
sectors such as tourism, financial services and education."
Qatar and Singapore stand comfortably
ahead of the pack on built assets per capital, at $198,000 and $192,000
respectively. The countries near the top of this ranking are disproportionately
made up of smaller nations, either by population or area, so the density of the
built asset stock is much greater per resident. Saudi Arabia, by comparison,
has a smaller built asset stock per capital where its built asset wealth is
spread among its large and growing population.
Total built asset wealth globally now
stands at an estimated $218 trillion, which is the equivalent to $30,700 per
person alive today. The stock of built assets is closely correlated with a
nation's economic output. On average, countries analyzed have a built asset
stock worth 2.9 times GDP. China now has a built asset wealth of $47.6trillion,
overtaking the USA which comes in second place with a wealth of $36.8trillion.
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