The Safe Haven 8

The benefits of inward millionaire¹ migration  are particularly noticeable in the leading safe haven countries of the world, namely, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, the UAE, New Zealand, Malta, Monaco, and Mauritius, which have all positively transformed their economies by encouraging wealthy people to move there.

For our purposes, a safe haven country is a sovereign state with high levels of safety and security that remains largely shielded from the world’s political and economic problems.

These “Safe Haven 8” countries share the following characteristics:

• All are popular destinations for migrating millionaires, with foreign-born migrants making up over 40% of the millionaire populations in all of these countries.
• All have achieved strong millionaire growth of +35% or more over the past decade — see Country Wealth Stats. 
• All are classified as high-income markets by the World Bank.
• All rank strongly when it comes to key safety and security metrics such as intentional homicide rates, child safety, and women safety.

Common reasons why millionaires migrate to these countries include:

• High levels of safety and security.
• Well-developed and highly regarded banking and wealth management systems, which makes them safe places to keep money.
• Solid bases for investing in global stock markets. This is particularly important for international investors and financiers.
• Excellent schooling and educational opportunities for their children.
• Popular retirement hotspots — Malta, Australia, and Mauritius are especially sought-after in this regard.
• Top-class healthcare systems.
• High standards of living.

Australia’s great advantage

Australia’s presence in the Safe Haven 8 is not surprising. It has one of the best healthcare systems in the world and offers excellent safety and security when compared to most other major developed countries worldwide.

Australia also has one additional advantage that sets it apart from the other seven countries on the list. This lies in its low population density. Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the world, with only three people per km², according to the latest World Bank data. 

This is a major advantage for the following reasons:

• Resource rich: Low population density countries such as Australia have a large amount of land and resources relative to the number of people, namely ‘high resources per capita’. This makes them less reliant on other countries for trade and resources.
• Eco-friendly: Having a sparse population allows for more uninhabited open spaces, giving wildlife the opportunity to thrive, which improves the quality of life for locals and boosts eco-tourism opportunities. Notably, over 20% of Australia is protected by national parks, making it one of the most ecologically friendly countries on earth.

Other countries globally that also have low population densities include the likes of Canada, Iceland, and Namibia.

For a full review of Australia’s Great Advantage, please see article here.

Notes 

¹ The terms ‘millionaires’ or ‘high-net-worth individuals’ (HNWIs) refer to individuals with liquid investable wealth of USD 1 million or more.