Abstract

There is growing interest in information on how wealth is distributed across households, in order to obtain insights into how inequality is evolving over time, to assess what type of households are more vulnerable to economic shocks, and how different types of policies may impact groups of households. In response, the OECD's Expert Group on Distribution of Household Wealth (EG DHW) has developed a framework for compiling distributional wealth accounts that integrate microdata on household wealth with macroeconomic totals from the national accounts. This relates to specific recommendations of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI) and aligns closely with the strengthened emphasis on distributional information in the 2025 System of National Accounts (2025 SNA). The presentation will explain the relevance of the results, explain its conceptual foundations, and zoom in on the methodology used to reconcile microdata sources with national accounts aggregates. Drawing on the results of recent data collection rounds, the presentation will highlight key findings and demonstrate the analytical insights these data can provide. Looking ahead, the presentation will discuss methodological challenges that remain to be addressed and outline plans for the next steps, including broadening country coverage, increasing the granularity of the results, improving the timeliness and frequency of the data.