The highest growth came from both China and the US, with each increasing its territory’s CFP count by 3,007 and 3,009 respectively.
Japan was next in the growth stakes, adding 712 people to bring the total there to 18,548, followed by South Africa, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, and India.
Noel Maye, FPSB chief executive, said: "While many markets continued to face economic uncertainty in 2012, overall support for the CFP certification program remained strong and CFP professional numbers are on track to exceed 150,000 within the coming year."
In the Americas, the number of certified financial planners increased by 3.7% with the total number in Brazil, Canada and the US standing at 85,516 in 2012.
This represented 58% of the total number of CFP holders worldwide compared with the 36% in the Asia Pacific region, where the number grew by 4,394 to 53,353.
European member organizations showed a growth rate of 4.6%, resulting in a total of 4,617 or 3% of the global total, while in South Africa, there were 346 additions, giving a total number of 4,335, or almost 3% worldwide.
Maye said the CFP qualification chimed with the regulators seeking increased levels of competency from financial services practitioners and consumers seeking qualified advisers.
He added that the FPSB and its member organizations are “committed to working with regulators, firms, educators and others to promote consumer awareness of financial planning”.
