According to the study entitled "Where is the Wealth of Nations", the usual indicators on wealth of nations such as the Gross Domestic Product ignore the resource depletion and damage done to the environment.
That is why the Bank uses in this study "unorthodox yardsticks such as 'natural capital' to measure the total wealth of countries, ranking 118, the Reuters agency reported.
The study reads that according to figures from 2000, "the average world citizen owns a total wealth of US$ 90,000 an amount similar to the per capita wealth of Brazil (US$ 87,000), Lybia (US$ 89,000) or Croatia (US$ 91,000)."
The World Bank also gives a list of the 'richest' and poorest countries.
In 2000, the top 10 countries according to the wealth per capita are Switzerland (US$ 648,241), Denmark, Sweden, the United States, Germany, Japan, Austria, Norway, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Some of the countries at the bottom of the list are Madagascar, Chad, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Nepal, Niger, Burundi and Ethiopia.