PRIVATE WEALTH.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5029, 20 September 1926, Page 1

PRIVATE WEALTH.

POSITION IN NEW ZEALAND.

STATISTICIAN’S FIGURES.

According to the Abstract of Statistics for August, a computation of the latent estimates of private wealth in New Zeala.nd, taken over the years from 1921 to 1925, yielded £744,603,989, representing £553 per head of the whole population a,nd £909 per head of persons of twenty years andover (practically thq adult population).

“Going back a few years,’’ states the report, “it is interesting to recall that a ; n estimate of tne private wealth in 1914, taking an average dve,r the years 1908-1914, showed £285,485,829, being an average of £260 per head of the whole population, or £433 per head of persons, twenty years of age and over. During the last eleven years the estimated private wealth of New Zealand has thus increased by practically £460,000,000. Notwithstanding that increasing values, have been largely responsible for this phenomenal growth, the result of the comparison reflects a considerable increase in the prosperity of the country.”

The report explains that estimates of the. private wealth of Nejw' Zealand are arrived at on the assumption that the we,alth per head of the living is approximately equal to that left by the average person dying. The fa,ct that the younger and more numerous members of thq population do not possess, as much accumulated wealth as the older members, taken in conjunction with the fact that the death rate varies with the age, renders it necessary for this purpose: to divide the population into quinquennial agegroupsi The average wealth of persons dying within any one age-group being known, the average, wealth of living persons belonging to that group is assumed to be identical and an estimate of the totaj private wealth of Ne.w Zealand is arrived at, keeping in mitod the number of persons in each group. The actual average wealth of deceased persons is obtained by a consideration of the estates certified for stamp duty.