How much money is there in the world per person? Actual calculations for 2024

If you’ve ever wondered how much money there is in the world per inhabitant of the planet, the answer might surprise you. According to the international economic database CEIC, if all liquid assets in circulation were evenly distributed, each person would receive approximately $15,108 — an amount sufficient to buy a used car or, as analysts joke, a Dacia Sandero model.

But why exactly this number? The thing is, when talking about the money supply, it doesn’t mean all the world’s wealth, but a narrower measure — the monetary aggregate M2.

M2 Money Supply: What to Include in Calculations

Before calculating how much money in the world per person, it’s important to understand what we’re talking about. The M2 money supply is not the sum of all assets and property of humanity, but an intermediate monetary aggregate that includes:

• Cash in circulation
• Highly liquid bank deposits (up to 2 years)
• Savings accounts and money market accounts
• Time deposits available after prior notice (up to 3 months)

In simpler terms, these are the funds you can access and use relatively quickly, unlike real estate, stocks, or works of art, which are sold slowly and with difficulty.

CEIC data shows that the global M2 money supply in 2024 amounted to $123.313 trillion (in American numbering). For comparison: the total net private wealth in the world, according to UBS’s “Global Wealth Report 2024,” is $487.9 trillion. So, M2 is only a quarter of humanity’s total wealth.

Global Calculation: $15,108 per Inhabitant

Now let’s do the math. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world population in 2024 is 8,161,973,000 people.

Dividing the M2 money supply by the number of people:

$123,313,000,000,000 ÷ 8,161,973,000 = $15,108 per person

At the current exchange rate, this is approximately €13,944 (euros). Analysts at VisualCapitalist note that this amount would be enough for:

• The average household expenses for two years
• A used mid-range car
• An entirely new Dacia Sandero (without additional options)

However, it’s important to remember that this is a hypothetical even distribution. In reality, how much money in the world is concentrated in the hands of a small percentage of the population, creating enormous inequality.

Spain in Numbers: Why Are Spaniards Wealthier?

Repeating this same calculation for Spain, the result is noticeably higher. According to CEIC, Spain’s M2 money supply in December 2024 was €1.648 billion.

At the same time, Spain’s population, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) as of January 2025, is 49,077,984 people.

Dividing the money supply by the population:

€1,648,000,000,000 ÷ 49,077,984 = €30,968 per person

This is 2.2 times higher than the global average. A Spaniard, receiving a fair share of the national money supply, could buy not just a Dacia Sandero but seriously consider a more prestigious car.

What Do These Numbers Say?

These calculations demonstrate the fundamental difference between the amount of money in circulation and the actual distribution of wealth. The M2 money supply reflects the liquidity of the economy, not its fairness. The amount of money in the world in absolute terms will not change the situation of those who practically have none, as long as the mechanisms of the economic system remain unchanged.