National net worth reached $4 trillion at the end of last year, Statistics Canada reported today.

That works out to $124,700 on a per capita basis at the end of December, StatsCan said, up from $123,000 at the end of September.

The agency defines national net worth as “wealth less net foreign liabilities” or “the sum of the net worth of persons, corporations and governments.”

Declining foreign debt was a major factor in the increase, as what non-residents owe Canadians rose at a significantly faster pace than what Canadians owe non-residents, the agency said.

National wealth grew by 4.9% in 2003, down from 5.9% growth in 2002.

A major contributor to the rising national net worth was the value of natural resources including timber, energy and minerals.

The net worth of households advanced, but so did their debt loads.

“Government net debt declined relative to gross domestic product, but this drop was more pronounced at the federal level,” StatsCan said.

“The financial health of the corporate sector improved in 2003, reflecting the massive gains in undistributed profits relative to weak growth in non-financial capital acquisition.”