DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) attracted the highest net inflow of millionaires in the world in 2022, seeing the number of its residents with a net worth of $1 million or more increase by 5,200 last year, according to a report released Tuesday.

In contrast, several major nations saw their numbers drop. China had the largest drop in its total number of millionaires, followed by India, the United Kingdom and Russia, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023.

Migration statistics on high net worth individuals (HNWIs) are a reflection of the economic outlook and future trends of a country, according to the London-based investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners that published the study.

What happened: The UAE attracted the highest net inflow of millionaires in 2022 according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023 released on Tuesday. It also held the top rank of the most millionaires in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that year, with 109,500. 

The data in the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023 is supplied by wealth intelligence firm New World Health and covers key countries in select regions. 

Here is the ranking of millionaires (in US dollars) in MENA countries covered for 2022: 

Country:                      Number of millionaires (USD 1M+): 

UAE                            109,900

Israel                           80,800

Saudi Arabia               51,600

Turkey                         44,500

Qatar                           26,100

Egypt                          16,100

Morocco                       5,800 

Algeria                          2,800 

The UAE's high rate of incoming millionaires is attributed to the country’s policies after the COVID-19 pandemic. It was seen as a safe haven with a highly diversified economy and one of the most competitive tax rates globally among other enticing qualities during difficult times, the report stated. The country’s secure status amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was also likely a contributing factor. 

Pre-pandemic, the UAE had HNWI net inflows of about 1,000 per year, according to Henley & Partners. The pandemic had devastating effects on global millionaire migration, which dropped from 110,000 to 12,000 from 2019 to 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2023, the UAE is projected to begin slowing back in the direction of pre-pandemic numbers with a 4,500 net inflow of millionaire migrants. It is expected to fall second only to Australia (estimated 5,200 net value), a country that has had a consistently high influx of millionaires from Asia and Africa, with the UK being a more recent addition.

For the UAE, most millionaires arriving in 2023 are expected to come from India, but with large numbers also coming from the UK, Russia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Hong Kong and China. 

Why it matters:  High-net-worth-individual migration statistics speak to the economic well-being of countries, according to Henley & Partners. 

“Affluent families are extremely mobile, and their transnational movements can provide an early warning signal in terms of a country’s economic outlook and future country trends. Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine,” wrote Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, in an online post about the released report.

An increasing outflow of millionaires often points to a drop in confidence in a country, he added. 

China is expected to lead again in 2023 with the highest HNWI net outflows rising from 10,800 this year to 13,500. The UK’s net millionaire outflow is expected to double in 2023, rising from 1,600 in 2022 to 3,200 next year. 

After Australia, wealthy families are choosing to relocate to the UAE, Singapore, the United States and Switzerland. 

Despite net values of millionaire migrations, the United States, Japan, China, Germany and then the UK held the top five positions in 2022 as the wealthiest countries in terms of total HNWI population, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023. 

The United States led with 5,270,000 millionaires in 2022, while Japan trailed far behind with 952,000, along with China (780,000), Germany (767,700) and the UK (651,700).

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