If Australia was made up of 100 people this is how much they would earn

If you’ve ever wondered how the other side lives, new statistics have provided an insight into just how much money you need to be rich in Australia.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its Survey of Income and Housing 2017/18 last week, and it gives people a snapshot of the assets and debts of Australians.

The ABS has separated Australia’s population into five segments, called quintiles, each representing 20 per cent of the population.

It found average household wealth has grown to about $1.02 million, from nearly $749,000 in 2005/06.

Household wealth is calculated by adding up all the assets owned by a household and then subtracting the value of debts such as home loans.

The survey found the top 20 per cent had an average net worth of $3.2 million.

Rising house prices have been the biggest factor pushing up household wealth, but only 22 per cent of households own a property other than the home in which they lived.

The average amount owing on a home loan was $102,600, the average student loan debt was $5000 and the average credit card debt was $3000.

Superannuation is also becoming a key factor separating rich from poor. The richest households now hold on average $646,000 in their super accounts compared with those in the next quintile who only had about $216,000.

The most affluent Aussies also had a lower proportion of their money tied up in property.

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WEALTHIEST HOUSEHOLDS — TOP 20 PER CENT

These households were the most likely to have both partners working and not to have kids. In about 53 per cent of cases at two people in the household were employed.

They were also the most likely to have money invested in their own businesses, with almost 8 per cent putting their money into this, a lot more than other quintiles that all had less than 2 per cent invested.

Australia’s wealthiest households had more money in shares and private trusts, and investment loans made up 6 per cent of their debt, which is higher than for other groups.

These households held more than 60 per cent of all household wealth.

WEALTHIER THAN AVERAGE — FOURTH QUINTILE

This group is more likely to be an older couple with more mature children.

However, almost a third of this group were also couples without kids.

The home they live in is their biggest asset, with 94.6 per cent paying off or owning their own property. About 17 per cent of their wealth also comes from their superannuation fund.

AVERAGE ASSETS — THIRD QUINTILE

This is your classic young couple with babies and young children.

This group has the most wealth tied up in their family home, with these mortgages making up 70.4 per cent of their liabilities — the most out of any quintile.

About 88.9 per cent of these households lived in a home they owned or were paying off.

The middle 20 per cent of households held 11 per cent of all household wealth, averaging about $564,400 per household.

LESS WEALTHY — SECOND QUINTILE

Less than half of this group own a home with or without a mortgage.

They are more likely to have wealth tied up in superannuation or as money in the bank.

The contents of their homes make up 11.7 per cent of their household wealth.

Car loans are often the biggest debt they have apart from their mortgage.

LEAST WEALTHY — BOTTOM 20 PER CENT

This group features the biggest proportion of single parent families (13.4 per cent) compared with other quintiles.

They are also the most likely to be single-person households (36.7 per cent) with about 40.5 per cent of household income coming from government pensions and allowances.

Only 3.9 per cent had a owner-occupied home and 2.3 per cent had other property assets.

They had the highest amount of debt owing on student loans.

The bottom 20 per cent controlled less than 1 per cent of all household wealth, with average wealth of about $35,200.

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