Here's an interesting thought that has been occupying my mind lately. Imagine for a second: what if all the cash that exists in the global economy were simply divided equally among every person on the planet? It sounds like utopia, but let's do the math to see how much money is actually in circulation worldwide.

When people talk about cash on a global scale, they refer to the monetary aggregate M2. This isn't just bills in your wallet, but everything you can relatively quickly convert into cash: money in circulation, bank deposits up to two years, savings accounts, money market accounts. In simple terms, these are the funds that are actually accessible in the economy and can be spent.

According to CEIC data for 2024, the global money supply M2 is approximately $123.3 trillion. That's a huge number, but when you start to understand how much money needs to be distributed among 8.16 billion people, the picture changes completely. If distributed evenly, each person would get about $15,108, or roughly €13,944 at the current exchange rate. For reference: that's about the price of a new Dacia Sandero or two years' worth of expenses for an average household.

By the way, it's interesting to note that this figure is quite different from the total global wealth. According to a UBS report, net private wealth worldwide reaches $487.9 trillion, but this includes real estate, stocks, assets that are not so easily exchanged for cash. The M2 money supply is a completely different measure.

Looking at individual countries, the picture varies. Take Spain: in December 2024, the M2 money supply was about $1.648 trillion with a population of 49 million. That means each Spaniard would get roughly $33,571, or about €31,000. Almost twice the global average. This shows how the distribution of money varies greatly depending on the level of economic development in a region.

Overall, it's a good way to understand the scale of global liquidity and how much money is actually circulating in the world economy. Sometimes, numbers help us rethink the reality we live in.