Germans Saved by Far the Most Money Europe-wide in 2020, but Remain Far Behind Internationally in Terms of Average Wealth

• German citizens put €388.5 billion aside in 2020
• Savings rate jumped to 23.48% in Corona crisis year 2020 (2019: 18.42%) 
• Germany nevertheless ranks far behind internationally in terms of per capita wealth

Last year, German citizens saved €388.5 billion. This puts them in undisputed first place in Europe – followed by France with €260.7 billion. But the situation is very different with regard to net worth, as shown in a new infographic from Block-Builders.net.

Citizens in Europe are richer than ever. In 2020, German citizens put aside 45% more compared to 2019. A considerable portion of this money went into the stock market: €49 billion to be precise.

Per capita savings in Germany in 2020 amounted to €4,671, while the EU average was €3,121.

As can be seen in the infographic, the savings rate has risen significantly lately. Last year it was 23.48%, compared to 18.42% in 2019. In the euro area as a whole, the rate rose from 12.94% to 19.71% over the same period. But anyone who infers from this that Germans are particularly wealthy would be mistaken.

Not only are there an above-average number of people in Germany without any savings, Germans also perform relatively poorly in terms of average wealth (median). In 2019, this amounted to the equivalent of US$35,313. By comparison, in Switzerland it is US$227,891, and in France (US$101,942), the United Kingdom (US$97,452) and many other countries, average wealth is also significantly higher. The reasons for this appear to be manifold; market observers often cite the following, among others: the low rate of home ownership, an inclination towards savings books and a reluctance to invest in volatile assets.