National Wealth as an Economic Category

National wealth is one of the most general economic categories and an integral indicator for assessing and comparing the economic potential and capabilities of different countries. The calculation of such important macroeconomic quantities is based on the system of national accounts. In the economic literature, the term wealth refers to the sum of certain elements. In the economic literature, the term "wealth" refers to the sum of certain elements. In this sense, "wealth" is the object of economic science and statistical research. Country, nation, people, social wealth - these categories emerged with the formation of economic science. The first mention of the category "national wealth" in foreign literature is associated with the works of the classical economist W. Petty. In his search for the source of wealth, the author quantified the economic events of his time. In 1664 the scholar calculated the national wealth of England. Two concepts have emerged: national wealth is regarded as a certain fund held by a country in a certain period of time, or as recurrent income, a certain flow of products processed and used by the state, of the country over a certain period of time. The second concept dominated 19th century science. In our view, the definition of national wealth as a certain flow over a certain period of time is more characteristic of the concept of national income or gross product. For a scientifically sound and legitimate characterization of the concept of national wealth it is necessary to combine these two approaches. Only from the middle of the 20th century onwards. National wealth is identified with the accumulated stock of tangible and intangible assets. All elements of national wealth have a material composition, i.e. represent the material wealth of society. But on the wave of scientific and technological progress, information played a big role, in the mid-twentieth century the economy transformed from industrial to neo-industrial, and intangible elements were included in national wealth: human capital and information. If we compare countries by the level of national wealth, it is known that natural resources prevail in the structure of national wealth of low-income countries, and human potential prevails in high-income ones. In order to achieve a certain level of socio-economic well-being, most researchers believe that forms of international division of labor and organization are necessary to enable less developed countries to change the proportions of national wealth. and increase the proportion of human potential. Keywords: Wealth, national wealth, national wealth as an economic category.