Australians are the richest people in the world, by one measure at least.

As the number of Australian millionaires rose by 38,000 to 1.123 million people, the median wealth of adult Australians stands at $233,504 (US$219,505) – the highest level in the world, according to the Credit Suisse 2013 Global Wealth Report, released on Wednesday.

Median wealth is the midpoint between richest and poorest.

By the measure of average wealth, Australians fall back to second with $426,844 (US$402,578) per person, ranking behind the Swiss who were the world's richest on $543,992 (US$513,000).

Credit Suisse Australia’s chief investment strategist, David McDonald, said the nation's household wealth per adult grew by 2.6% in the past year. That was slower than the global average of 4.6%, but Australia still had the best distribution of wealth among developed nations.

"Although we are up there at a high level of wealth per adult we've also got a better spread than a lot of the other developed countries including, obviously, the Swiss, but also places like the US," McDonald said.

The number of Australian millionaires increased by 38,000 to 1.123 million people, with the calculation including the value of real estate owned outright.

Australians were shown to have a much higher level of wealth held in property and non-financial assets – 58.5% compared to the world average of 45% and just 38% in the US.

The US remains the millionaire capital of the world, with 13.2 million people topping the seven-figure mark and nearly 46,000 people in the $US50m-plus category. Australia has 2,059 people in the richest category, 2.1% of the global total.

While Australia has maintained its place at the top in median terms for three years running, Credit Suisse reported that North America has regained its title as the wealthiest region in the world.

Rising house prices and stock markets fuelled a 12% rise in North American wealth to $US78.9tn from mid-2012 to mid-2013, putting the region ahead of the Asia Pacific and Europe for the first time since before the global financial crisis.

Credit Suisse global head of research for private banking, Giles Keating, said Japan's economic slump had dragged down the Asia-Pacific region.

"The fourth annual Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report shows an $US11tn rise in (global) wealth to $US241tn, with the US as the clear winner, overtaking Europe, while Asia-Pacific fell back due to sharp depreciation of the yen," Keating said.