A new report suggests that rich Indians are fleeing the country and in increasing numbers. In 2018, India saw the third highest outflow of wealthy individuals in the world.

Nearly 5,000 millionaires, or high-networth individuals (HNIs), that is, 2 percent of the total number of HNIs in India, migrated to other countries says the Global Wealth Migration Review (GWMR) 2019 by AfrAsia Bank and research firm New World Wealth.

The number of HNIs leaving India in 2018, was even faster than the UK, which is in the midst of a political turmoil owing to Brexit. Following the Brexit, the migration trend in the UK has reversed sharply in the last two years. For three decades before that, it ranked among the countries with the highest number of inflow of wealthy individuals.

The list was topped by China, as the country economy started to show the impact of the trade battle with the US in 2018. Things might worsen as the spat intensifies.

Russia occupied the second spot, ahead of India, as the Russian economy grapples with the impact of multiple embargoes.

As for the countries receiving millionaire migrants, the US and Australia topped the list of the most sought after destinations.

The report also pointed out at India's problem of growing gap in wealth inequality. The HNIs hold nearly half the total wealth (48 percent) in the country as against the global average of 36 percent.

However, the report further said that the outflow of HNIs from India and China "are not particularly concerning" as they are still producing far more new HNIs than they are losing.

"Also, once the standard of living in these countries improves, we expect several wealthy people to move back," the report noted.

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