France’s national wealth in 2018: Weaker growth in household wealth due to the fall in equity prices

France’s national wealth continued to expand in 2018, reaching EUR 15,482 billion at the end of the year or 8.0 times its net domestic product. The rise was driven by non-financial wealth and especially land underlying buildings and structures. However, the rate of growth was more subdued than in the previous year, at 3.5% compared with 4.6%. Household net worth rose to EUR 11,735 billion. The increase was markedly smaller than in the previous year (at 1.6% versus 4.7% in 2017), due to the temporary downturn in equity prices at the end of 2018. For the same reason, non-financial corporations’ own funds were little-changed at end-2018, showing an increase of just 0.3% at EUR 9,945 billion. Financial corporations’ net worth recovered to EUR 722 billion, with the rise stemming essentially from a rebound in financial net worth. General government net worth rose by 7.6% to EUR 303 billion at end-2018, from EUR 282 billion a year earlier. Fin 2018, le patrimoine economique national net s’eleve a 15482 milliards d’euros, soit 8,0 fois le produit interieur net de l’annee. Porte par le patrimoine non financier, et notamment par les terrains bâtis, il poursuit sa progression, mais a un rythme moins soutenu que l’annee precedente (+ 3,5%, apres + 4,6%). Le patrimoine net des menages atteint 11735 milliards d’euros. Il progresse nettement moins vite que l’annee precedente (+ 1,6%, apres + 4,7%), pâtissant du repli transitoire du cours des actions a la fin de l’annee 2018. Pour cette meme raison, la valeur des fonds propres des societes non financieres marque le pas (+ 0,3%) et s’eleve a 9945 milliards d’euros. Le patrimoine net des societes financieres se redresse pour s’etablir a 722 milliards d’euros, le patrimoine financier net repartant a la hausse. Enfin, le patrimoine net des administrations publiques progresse (+ 7,6%) pour atteindre 303 milliards d’euros fin 2018, apres 282 milliards fin 2017.