A report published by Credit Suisse last month ranked the world’s nations in terms of average and median wealth.

Few would be surprised to learn that Switzerland was on top of the ladder in terms of average wealth per adult, with an impressive average wealth figure of $US530,244 ($732,932 in Australian money).

But how many would have thought Australia ($US411,060) would come in second, even ahead of the United States ($US403,974) where the average figure is greatly inflated by being home to 40 per cent of all the world’s millionaires?

But the US is also the country where the richest 0.1 per cent of the population holds the same wealth as the poorest 90 per cent, so the average wealth figure can be a misleading one.

A much better measure of how well a country is doing is the median wealth figure – the point where 50 per cent has more and 50 per cent has less.

On that measure, Credit Suisse ranked Australia at number one, with a median wealth of $US191,453 ($A264,636), ahead of Switzerland ($US183,339) and Belgium ($US163,429). The US does not even make the top 10, painting a telling picture of a nation divided into haves and have-nots.

For all that, though, there is still a tendency to talk down our good fortune.

There are certainly plenty of people doing it tough in Australia, but many are doing it much tougher elsewhere.

The “rising cost of living” is a regular complaint of politicians and radio shock jocks (and both groups are keen to point the finger at those they want to blame) but inflation remains at low levels.

While energy bills have risen dramatically in recent years, other costs have fallen or remained steady to soften the blow.

But you would be hard-pressed to realise that listening to public debate in this country.

When did Australia get this way? Generations past derided the “whingeing Poms” who migrated to our shores but then complained about the sun and the flies, but now it’s the “whingeing Aussie” that has taken their place.

There is still plenty of work to do to improve the lot of Australia’s poorest, but we’re already further down the track than many other nations on Earth.

It’s a good news story worth sharing.