China, India and Singapore posted the biggest increases in millionaires last year

China, India and Singapore posted the biggest increases in millionaires last year as the Asia-Pacific region countered a decline in wealth in western Europe and the U.S., according to Boston Consulting Group.

Millionaire households in China rose 16 percent to 1.43 million while those in Singapore climbed 14 percent to 188,000 and India saw a 21 percent increase to 162,000, the Boston-based firm said in a report released today. Millionaire households in the U.S. fell by 129,000 to 5.13 million.

Europe’s debt crisis and declining equity markets slowed the increase in global wealth last year with a 1.9 percent gain to $122.8 trillion compared with a 6.8 percent growth rate in 2010, Boston Consulting said. Singapore had the highest proportion of millionaire households while Hong Kong led the rankings for the percentage of billionaires.

Global wealth surged at a compound annual rate of almost 11 percent from 2002 to 2007 before the financial crisis and the indebtedness of developed-market economies slowed growth, according to Boston Consulting data. The firm predicts a growth rate of 4 percent to 5 percent over the next five years, driven by wealth creation in emerging markets.

Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, saw an 11 percent increase to $23.7 trillion and will maintain that growth rate to surpass private wealth in Europe over the next five years, Boston Consulting predicted. The region may reach $40 trillion by 2016, it said.

Boston Consulting expects private wealth in China and India will increase by 15 percent and 19 percent a year respectively through 2016, with affluent Chinese more than $10 trillion better off by the end of the period.