Only five countries have more 'very rich' than India

The number of ultra high net worth individuals in India rose over the previous year at 9.5 per cent, far ahead of the global rate of six per cent

With $1.01 trillion in assets, 8,595 Indians together have taken the country to the sixth position in a global ranking of wealthy people. India has the third-largest population of ultra-rich individuals in Asia, after Japan and China.

The Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report 2014, published earlier this week, showed that the number of ultra high-networth individuals - those with net asset value of more than $30 million - increased over the previous year at 9.5 per cent in India, far ahead of the global rate of six per cent. Also, India has more ultra-rich people than Switzerland, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Countries ahead of India are the US, Germany, the UK, Japan and China.

The total wealth of India's ultra-rich grew 8.3 per cent over the previous year, faster than the global rate of seven per cent. The assets of the same set of people in the countries that rank above India grew at a much slower rate, except in Germany, where assets grew 10 per cent.

On average, the very rich own 2.7 properties and hold over eight per cent of their assets in real estate. Women tend to own more, with an average real estate holding worth $20 million, compared with $14 million for men.

Two per cent of the world's 211,275 wealthiest people have a second house in India, while around 30 per cent have at least one residence outside of their primary country of business. India is 10th on the list of preferred destinations for a second residence - the US, UK and Switzerland are the top three.

"These countries are considered safe havens for the world's wealthiest. Nonetheless, the importance of some of the world's key markets outside of these regions - such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore and India - shows that the shift of wealth creation towards Asia is not only on its way but is attracting more foreigners, who hope to benefit from the strong growth potential the region continues to offer," the report said.

It added there were about 5,000 non-resident Indians on the global list, the majority of them settled in Europe or North America. Indian-born ultra-rich individuals are one of the two biggest segments - the other being Chinese born - of the world's expatriate population in this category.

While government regulations and lack of transparency in some of the region's largest economies have acted as a barrier to growth, the report noted promising policy and political changes, such as the election of Narendra Modi as prime minister in India, had resulted in growing confidence for the region's prospects.