Driven by a strong global economy, the wealth of the world's high-net-worth individuals (HNWI*) increased 11.4 percent to (U.S.) $37.2 trillion in 2006, according to the 11th annual World Wealth Report, released last week by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, MarketingCharts reports. That was the first double-digit growth in seven years, according to the report.

The number of HNWI in the world increased 8.3 percent in 2006, to 9.5 million, and the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (Ultra-HNWI**) grew 11.3 percent, to 94,970.

The largest growth of the HNWI population occurred in Singapore and India, where the increases over 2005 were 21.2 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively.

The report forecasts that economic growth will slow in 2007 as mature economies grow more moderately.

MarketingCharts offers many more findings from the Merrill/Capgemini report.

* Individuals with net assets of at least $1 million, excluding their primary residence and consumables.

** Individuals with net assets of at least $30 million, excluding their primary residence and consumables.