This study presents the first comprehensive compilation of the number of people around the world owning shares voluntarily. We document that at least 317 million people in 70 countries (24 developed and 46 emerging market nations) invest in equity of publically listed companies or mutual funds....

This study presents the first comprehensive compilation of the number of people around the world who own shares directly and indirectly. We document that at least 310 million people in 59 countries (24 developed and 35 emerging market nations) own stock directly [Table 1]. Nearly 173 million of...