In April 2009, Australia was ranked No. 11 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) among the world's richest countries based on gross domestic product with a GDP of US$1.011 trillion.

It was next to Canada, which tallied $1.51, and was the richest among Oceania nations, followed by New Zealand with only $128.5 billion. The U.S. occupied the top position with $14.265 trillion followed by Japan ($4.924), China ($4.402), Germany ($3.688) and France ($2.866).

The United Kingdom ($2.674 trillion), Italy ($2.314 trillion), Russia ($1.677 trillion), Spain ($1.612 trillion) and Brazil ($1.573) rounded out the top ten.

A big surprise turned up when the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2011, which came out in the Sydney Morning Herald, revealed that Australians and not other nationalities are the most affluent in terms of median wealth levels.

The Credit Suisse Institute announced that according to the average wealth per adult in 2011, "Switzerland, Australia and Norway are the three richest nations in the world, with Switzerland recording the highest average wealth per adult at USD 540,010 -- the only country to exceed USD 500,000. In Asia Pacific, Singapore follows Australia as the second wealthiest nation in the region and fifth in the world in terms of average wealth."

A glaring difference from the Credit Suisse was that the overall household wealth in Asia Pacific increased 23 percent from USD 61 trillion in January 2010 to USD 75 trillion in June 2011. This contrasted with the 9.2 percent and 4.8 percent total wealth growth in North America and Europe over the same period respectively, reflective of the global megatrend of the continued shift of economic power from the developed world to emerging economies.

Wealth in Australia is more equally allocated compared to other countries, particularly the U.S., which showed a midpoint fortune of approximately $US53, 000.

Observers say that the current crisis in Europe had something to do with the emergence of a new breed of millionaires, with the trend bound to continue in the next five years.

The Credit Suisse Global Wealth report shows worldwide wealth is estimated at $US231 trillion and is forecast to hit $US314 trillion by 2016, despite the current market upheaval according to the same news report.

Economists stated that Australia's interest rates are generally different from Europe and the U.S.

The higher rates highlight the strength of the Australian dollar and a manifestation of Australia's upbeat economy.

These developments are an indication of a restructuring of the global economic order in the coming years.