New data from advisory firm Wealth-X, shows that the world’s ultra high net worth (UHNW) population – individuals with $30 million or more in net worth – grew by 3.5% to 226,450 individuals in 2016.

Their combined wealth also increased in 2016, expanding by 1.5% to $27 trillion. The average net worth of the ultra wealthy, however, declined for the first time since 2013, Wealth-X said.

The financial capital of the world, New York accounted for the highest number of ultra-wealthy residents in 2016, rising 9% from 2015 to 8,350 – just under 1% of the city’s total population.

Two other global financial hubs, Hong Kong and Tokyo, maintained their top-three city status. London remains the largest UHNW city in Europe, but its lead over Paris narrowed sharply.

Though China has the world’s third-largest ultra wealthy population, its top city, Shanghai came in joint 29th, the Wealth-X World Ultra Wealth Report 2017 showed.

The leading five countries – the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK – accounted for almost 57% of the global ultra wealthy population and just short of 55% of UHNW wealth in 2016.

Overall, the top 30 countries accounted for around 93% of both the world’s ultra wealthy population as well as its total wealth.

Of these 30 countries, 12 are in Europe, nine are in Asia, four are in the Middle East, two are in North America and two in Latin America, and one is in the Pacific region, Wealth-X said.

The report found that almost half of the global ultra wealthy population had a net worth of between $30 million and $50 million, with the number of individuals in each tier diminishing steadily as the pyramid rises.

Average net worth for the approximately 108,500 UHNW individuals in the lower tier was $38 million, rising to $344 million for those in the $250 million to $500 million bracket and a substantial $3.1 billion for the small group of 2,397 billionaires.

The report said that Africa recorded a 4% drop in its ultra wealthy population in 2016, led by a substantial fall in Nigeria.

“South Africa, the region’s most industrialised economy, experienced a small increase in its ultra wealthy population and combined wealth following three successive annual falls,” it said.

Data published earlier in the year by advisory firm New World Wealth showed how many super-wealthy people live in South Africa, breaking down the figure into major cities.

NWW defines ‘millionaires’ or ‘high net worth individuals’ (HNWIs) as those people with net assets of US$1 million (R12.9 million) or more.

It defines multi-millionaires as those individuals with net assets of US$10 million or more.

South Africa has a total of 40,400 dollar millionaires, with as many as 2,130 individuals with US$10 million or more in assets.

Johannesburg is home to the largest portion of South Africa’s dollar millionaires, followed by Cape Town, Pretoria, and Durban.

Johannesburg : Home to 18,200 millionaires and 2 billionaires.

: Home to 18,200 millionaires and 2 billionaires. Cape Town: Home to 8,200 millionaires and 2 billionaires.

Home to 8,200 millionaires and 2 billionaires. Durban: Home to 3,200 millionaires and 1 billionaire.

Home to 3,200 millionaires and 1 billionaire. Pretoria: Home to 2,600 millionaires.

Read: Millionaires in Joburg vs Cape Town vs Durban vs Pretoria