Graphic detail | Daily chart

How long to be a millionaire

How long does it take to earn $1m in different countries?

By Economist.com

How long does it take to earn $1m in different countries?

INFLATION may have ruined "How to marry a millionaire" as a good film title, but there is still something magical about $1m. How long would it take for an average person to earn that special sum? To find out The Economist looked at how much the main breadwinner in an average household makes each year (before tax). On this measure, America creates the swiftest millionaires, and also the most (around 5m households, or 4% of the total). South of the border, Mexicans can expect to toil for three centuries to earn the same. For those struggling to imagine $1m, consider this: stacked up and denominated in $100 notes, it would reach over a metre high and weigh ten kilograms (22 lb).

More from Graphic detail

Five charts that show why the BJP expects to win India’s election

Narendra Modi’s party is eyeing another big victory

By 2100 half the world’s children will be born in sub-Saharan Africa

Fertility rates are falling faster everywhere else


A short history of India in eight maps

Understanding the breathtaking diversity of India and Indians