London: India will force Australia out of the world's top 10 countries with the highest household wealth within just a decade, according to research published Wednesday.

A global forecast published by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said China's booming economy will push it up to number three by 2017, behind the US and Japan and just ahead of Britain at number four.

China is currently ranked number seven.

India will jump from 12th place in 2007 to take the eighth spot in 2017, ahead of Canada and Spain and edging out Australia, current number 10.

"Over the coming decade, the gap in wealth between the world's most developed countries and the leading 'emerging markets' will continue to narrow," said Barclays Wealth, which conducts research and other services for the multinational banking group.

"At the same time, the continuing economic dominance of the world's established powerhouses can no longer be taken for granted. This shift in the balance of power is already well under way, as can be seen from the way in which countries such as China, India and the Gulf nations are being relied upon to sustain the momentum of the global economy as developed countries in North America and Europe start to run out of steam."