Recent global developments shook money statistics like never before. Namely, the pandemic opened our eyes to our vulnerability, be it physical or financial. Winning in life means riding the recession waves like the one we’ve been served by COVID-19. To do this, we need to boost our financial literacy, or plainly said, we should learn to manage our hard-earned cash.
Becoming one of the top 1% starts by observing the world of money. So, have a look at the most recent facts and stats here — your future depends on it!
10 Money Statistics for a Wealthier 2022
- Petroleum engineering is the highest-paid bachelor’s degree in the US.
- One-third of Americans added more to their savings accounts in 2020 than in 2019.
- 80% of Americans are indebted.
- 20% of the dollars presently in circulation were created last year.
- Currently, there are about $2.2 trillion dollars in circulation across the US.
- The CARES Act prevented a poverty rate of 19.4% in April 2020.
- The financial literacy of Americans rose just by 1% in the period 2017–2020.
- There are, currently, 17 cryptocurrency billionaires in the world.
- About 61% of global forex reserves are in American dollars.
- The Norway Government Pension Fund Global is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
5 Must-Know National Financial Statistics
Knowing the basic and not-so-basic facts about the financial environment around you can help you invest or save your cash wisely. Therefore, let’s take a closer look!
1. 69% of Americans believe the current economy is aiding the rich.
(PEW)
For many, the US economy is only helping the rich, much to the distress of the general population.
A recent poll shows that as much as 58% of Americans think that the national economy hurts the middle class. Likewise, 64% said the same thing for the impoverished. Last but not least, 46% felt that the economy goes against their class.
2. Petroleum engineers make the most money, market rates per bachelor’s degree reveal.
(Statista)
In 2020, the average mid-career salary of an engineer in petroleum was a staggering $182,000, making it the highest-earning bachelor’s degree in the country.
In addition to that, electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) is the second most-paid bachelor’s degree in the US, earning about $152,300. Sharing third place were the degrees in applied economics and management, and operations research (both $139,600).
3. 44% of low-income Americans worry about making ends meet.
(PEW)
According to average US household money statistics, more than 2 in 5 Americans with low-incomes worry about money on a daily basis.
Financial uncertainty isn’t as high for the middle class where merely 19% reported frequent money concerns. Furthermore, just 7% of high-income Americans share the same worries.
4. Just 29% of all US adults say they live comfortably.
(PEW)
This figure just goes to show that the class gap is growing ever wider.
According to these financial statistics, 72% of those with a higher income believe they live comfortably, whereas this number decreases to just 28% for those with a middle income, and further down to 8% for low-income families.
Shockingly, 17% of the latter stated they don’t even have enough for basic expenses. That said, only a handful of middle- and upper-class households stated the same; namely, 3% and 2% respectively.
5. Prior to the pandemic, 63% of all Americans were optimistic about future money trends.
(PEW)
In fact, 84% of those belonging to the upper class were of the opinion that they would have a more comfortable financial situation in the future. Likewise, middle- and lower-class citizens were also optimistic, as 68% and 56% (respectively) saw themselves having more cash in the future.
Latest Money Statistics from 2021
Here’s what we know so far for what we hope is the post-pandemic year.
6. China has the biggest foreign currency money reserves in the world.
(Statista)
In 2020, China had $3.46 trillion worth of money reserves in foreign currency. Japan was second with $1.51 trillion, and Switzerland was third with $1.003 trillion.
The same year, money statistics show the US had about $140.83 billion in foreign liquidity.
In short, foreign exchange reserves allow countries to facilitate trade, foreign transactions and keep their national currency stable.
7. The Norway Government Pension Fund Global is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world for 2021.
(Statista)
In February 2021, this fund reached an impressive $1.27 trillion. The China Investment Corporation follows suit with one trillion dollars.
Other large state-owned funds include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ($580 million), and Honk Kong Monetary Authority Investment Portfolio ($576 million).
8. The US holds 56% of world stocks, financial statistics from 2021 show.
(Statista)
As of 2020, Japan held the second-largest stock market share — 7.4%, followed by China (5.4%), the UK (4.1%), and France (2.9%).
What’s more, both of the largest stock exchange markets — namely, the NYSE and the NASDAQ — are based in New York City.
9. 60.89% of global forex reserves are held in American dollars, money statistics reveal.
(Statista) (Statista)
More precisely, $11.83 trillion is held in global currency reserves. Now, when it comes to the daily turnover on the global forex market, we get to another $6.6 trillion.
10. Currently, there are about $2.2 trillion dollars in circulation across the US.
(FRED) (FR)
The Federal Reserve of the US ordered the printing of 7.6 to 9.6 billion additional banknotes for the 2021 Fiscal Year.
Startling Statistics on Saving Money & US Debt
Americans enjoy a global reputation as the most indebted nation in the world; as per consumer debt stats in 2019, Americans owed around $4.2 trillion in total.
That said, did COVID-19 make things worse for US citizens or did they manage to repay some of the debt? Continue reading and find out!
11. As much as 80% of Americans are indebted.
(Debt.org) (Shift Processing)
Consumer debt is quite frequent among Americans. Excluding mortgage, the average debt per adult American is around $38,000.
Who can blame them, especially given that in the last several years, borrowing has become as convenient as ever with the latest cash advance apps.
12. Financial statistics show that 43% of Americans are afraid to even check their savings account.
(SWNS digital)
Only one in five Americans regularly check their balance, fearing they’ll empty it before the next paycheck.
- One-third of Americans saved more in 2020 than they did in 2019.
(Debt.org)
The coronavirus pandemic showed everyone the importance of saving money, statistics confirm.
Namely, about two-thirds of Americans (66%) spent less or an equal amount of money per month before the pandemic.
On the other hand, 33% of the surveyed, were able to save some extra cash.
14. 6 in 10 Americans were anxious about their finances even before the pandemic hit.
(FINRA)
This is indeed one of the more unsettling financing statistics. Looking at the results from a survey involving 19,000 US adults, researchers concluded that 60% of them dreaded thinking about their finances.
In the subsequent 2020 focus groups, it was concluded that women worried more about finances than men. More precisely, 65% of women and about 54% of men felt nervous about their personal finances.
15. Statistics about Americans and savings reveal that Gen Xers are the most indebted generation.
(Debt.org)
Generation X (people between 40–56 years of age) owns the highest collective debt of $140,643 per individual.
Baby Boomers (those 57–75 years of age) were right behind them ($97,290), followed by millennials ($87,448), and the Silent Generation ($41,281).
16. 34% of those aged 18–29 are burdened with student loan debt.
(PEW)
One of the most indicative facts about money concerning the US is that 15% of all adults share the same burden — namely, student loan debt.
For instance, 22% of those aged 30–44 have student loan debt, whereas merely 7% of those between 45 and 59 have the same. Surprisingly, 1% of those over 60 still have outstanding debts from their student days.
This is the reason why many opt for savings accounts for college students and limit future debts as early as possible.
6 Scary Financial Statistics
The US is the world’s most powerful economy, so are the numerous worries justified?
17. The purchasing power of the dollar fell 26-fold since 1913.
(Visual Capitalist)
In other words, for all the things you could purchase for merely a dollar back in 1913, you now need $26 to do the same. One of the reasons behind this drop is the growing money supply (more money is being printed), which increases the price of virtually everything.
18. Financial statistics from 2020 show that 20% of dollars that are in circulation today were created that year.
This is a scary fact when you take into account that the purchasing power of the US dollar falls whenever there’s a surge in printed money. What’s more, the money supply rapidly increases each time there is a global crisis; like that in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic now.
Worse yet, financial statistics for 2021 show that the money supply will reach a staggering $19.5 trillion in 2021 in the US.
19. The CARES Act prevented a poverty rate of 19.4% in April 2020.
(PBS)
Right before March 2020, the American poverty rate was sitting at 15%. Needless to say, the lockdowns and other measures that soon followed increased the share of people living below the poverty line.
However, the percentage of poor people inevitably rose. Still, the damage could’ve been a lot greater, if it weren’t for the one-time stimulus checks and the $600/week unemployment benefits.
20. Financial literacy statistics in 2020 rose by 1% compared to 2017.
(TIAA Institute)
Indeed, according to the 2020 edition of the GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) evaluation done by the TIAA Institute, Americans are getting savvier in financial areas.
On average, the respondents answered correctly in half of the questions (52%) concerning eight functional areas.
The test also concluded that Americans lack financial literacy, especially in risk management and comprehension. Additionally, they did best in the borrowing and debt management parts.
21. Loan debt increased by 6% due to the pandemic, personal finance statistics from 2020 show.
(Debt.org) (Shift Processing)
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most debts increased year-over-year from 2019. Among these the personal loan debt, the student loan debt went up by 12%, and the mortgage debt — which rose by 7%.
22. The US poverty rate rose to a record-high 17.3% in August 2020.
(PBS)
Luckily, the numbers have been on the decline ever since. That said, poverty rates differ across the different communities (including the various ethnic groups).
For example, in August 2020, an estimated 26.9% of Latinx Americans were poor, compared to merely 12.3% of White Americans.
Fascinating Global Money Facts
Crisis or not, recent figures seemed even more dynamic than those in previous years. And as per the old saying, the richer were getting richer, and the poorer were getting poorer.
Exactly how much?
23. The world’s richest people own more than the annual GDP of China.
(Barrons)
Money statistics in 2020 reveal the combined wealth of all the world’s billionaires — $14.7 trillion! This is $2.5 trillion more than China’s GDP for that year ($12.2 trillion).
Plus, the global pandemic didn’t stop them from increasing their wealth by a solid 32%.
24. In 2020, there were 412 new additions on the world’s billionaires list.
(Barrons)
There are a total of 3,288 billionaires around the world, as per the data from 2020. Moreover, the youngest of the self-made billionaires is only 25 and most of them live in Beijing and other Chinese cities.
25. Financial statistics from 2021 suggest that there are 17 cryptocurrency billionaires in the world as of now.
(Barrons)
Currency tokens earned the status of billionaires for 17 people on earth. Others earned their money from crypto exchanges. And more are on their way given that trends forecast a 69.4% CAGR of the global blockchain market for the 2019–2025 period.
Yet, the cryptocurrency mining period is limited so we’ll have to see how they adjust to it.
26. We’re not likely to see the first trillionaire in our lifetime.
(Best Citizenships)
Interesting facts about money say that, currently, the richest people on Earth are nowhere near a net worth of trillion. However, there were 6 trillionaires in human history, here’s to name but a few:
- Amenhotep III
- Augustus Caesar
- Genghis Khan
- Zhao Xu.
27. Consumer spending was up 0.5% in April, spending money statistics show.
(WSJ) (BEA)
Post-pandemic spending has the power to overturn the recession — hence why Americans saw a positive trend in the first half of 2021.
Namely, ever since the start of 2021, people began spending more on things they couldn’t buy during the lockdowns; the most notable surge was in March when consumer spending rose 4.2%!
Fun Facts About Money and Famous People
Money and fame are closely intertwined as one inevitably leads to the other. So, which are the richest people on Earth?
28. Jeffree Star is the world’s richest YouTuber.
(The Teal Mango)
Jeffree Star, a well-known YouTuber, makeup artist, and beauty guru has a net worth of a staggering $200 million. YouTube money stats put Dude Perfect in second place (net worth of $50 million), while the guru of the gaming world, PewDiePie takes the third place (net worth of $40 million).
29. The wealth increase of just the 10 richest people could buy vaccines for all.
(BBC)
The rebounding stock market and other factors made the richest ten people in the world, well, even richer!
Oxfam calculations say that financial giants like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and 7 others at the top of the list amassed $540 billion more for the period March 2020–January 2021, which is enough to buy COVID-19 vaccines for everyone on the planet.
30. The Bill Gates money stats for 2021 may be the worst ever following a divorce from Melinda.
(Town and Country) (The Atlantic)
As per Forbes, Bill Gates is currently worth an estimated $124 billion but his assets are about to drop after his announced divorce from his 27-years-long wife Melinda.
He already transferred $2 billion worth of stock to her name. However, the wealth split won’t end there. After the divorce process, Gates could, in fact, drop out of the top five list.
31. Pablo Escobar money facts: his Cartel use to bring him a whopping $430 million a week.
(Biography.com)
Pablo’s financial “success” is largely due to the fact that he held a monopoly over the entire cocaine market, with some 80% being under his direct control.
Reportedly, he managed to smuggle over 15 tons of cocaine into the States on a daily basis!
Due to his large criminal empire, his net worth equaled around $30 billion by the mid-’80s, which is still nowhere near the above-mentioned Bill Gates money stats (namely, $126 billion in total). Nevertheless, Escobar earned a spot on Forbes’ list of richest people.
32. Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, earns $2 million in less than 15 minutes.
(Inquirer.net)
The founder and former CEO of Amazon earns more than what the average person with a bachelor’s degree earns in a lifetime in just under 15 minutes. To be more precise, Bezos earns $149,353 per minute and is worth $193.4 billion in total.
FAQs
What percentage of relationships fail because of money?
Although there is no precise data about the share of those who give up on love because of financial issues, money is cited as the number one cause for divorce.
A recent study shows that people who suffered a lower income due to the pandemic reported 17% higher marital stress than those that kept their budget intact.
How many Americans have a long-term financial plan?
Results from a recent poll by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) reveal that almost a quarter (23%) of adult Americans don’t have any financial plan whatsoever, let alone a long-term one.
For instance, 13% of Americans older than 60 don’t even have a retirement savings account.
And as per recent poll results, the average American experiences financial awakening at the age of 33, following a job loss, hour-reduction, or a divorce.
What percentage of people live on a budget?
About 23% of Americans are not making enough money to put on their savings or investment accounts.
One in five does regular checks on their balance, fearing it will be empty before their next paycheck.
Frontline data shows that right before the pandemic onset in the US (March 2020), about 15% of the US’s population lived in poverty. The figures rose to an all-year high of 17.3% in August.
What percent of the population is in debt?
80% of Americans bear the burden of debt. Excluding mortgage, the average debt per adult American is around $38,000.
Unfortunately, the recent pandemic increased the debts of most Americans. Compared to 2019, these debts increased the most year-over-year:
- student loan debt (by 12%)
- mortgage debt (by 7%)
- personal loan debt (by 6%).
Conclusion
If there’s one thing we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that health is priceless. For everything else, including the latest money statistics and trends, there’s room for improvement; especially now with the global economy in recovery after the effects of the pandemic.
So, keep yourself safe and your wallet safer! There’s no telling what’s in store next year.
