GITNUXREPORT 2026

Class Statistics

Income inequality and widespread poverty reveal deep global class divides.

Min-ji Park

Research Analyst focused on sustainability and consumer trends.

First published: Feb 13, 2026

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Statistic 1

In the U.S., high school dropouts had a poverty rate of 25.7% in 2022.

Statistic 2

Globally, 244 million children and youth are out of school, disproportionately from lower classes.

Statistic 3

In the UK, 23% of children eligible for free school meals achieved a good level of development at age 5 in 2022.

Statistic 4

U.S. college completion rate for lowest income quartile is 9% vs. 54% for highest quartile.

Statistic 5

In Brazil, 91% of top income decile completed secondary education vs. 28% in bottom decile in 2022.

Statistic 6

India's gross enrollment ratio in higher education was 28.4% in 2021-22, lower in rural low-income areas.

Statistic 7

In South Africa, 30% of children from poorest households attend no preschool vs. 4% from richest.

Statistic 8

Germany's PISA math scores for disadvantaged students were 80 points below advantaged in 2022.

Statistic 9

Australia’s Year 12 completion rate for low SES students was 78.5% in 2022 vs. 96% high SES.

Statistic 10

France saw 18% of low-income students drop out of secondary school in 2022.

Statistic 11

Canada's postsecondary attainment for bottom income quintile is 42% vs. 72% top in 2021.

Statistic 12

Mexico's indigenous students have literacy rates 20% lower than non-indigenous low-income peers.

Statistic 13

EU average, 11.2% early school leavers from low-education families in 2023.

Statistic 14

Japan's university enrollment for low-income households is 40% below national average.

Statistic 15

Russia’s PISA reading gap between advantaged/disadvantaged students is 92 points.

Statistic 16

Sweden's grade point average gap between high/low SES students is 0.8 grades.

Statistic 17

China's rural students score 50 points lower in PISA science than urban.

Statistic 18

U.S. low-income students have 25% lower NAEP math proficiency at grade 8.

Statistic 19

Italy's NEET rate for low-educated youth is 28% vs. 12% high-educated.

Statistic 20

Spain early school leaving rate for low SES is 25% in 2023.

Statistic 21

In the U.S., 54% of low-income adults have low literacy skills (Level 1 or below).

Statistic 22

Globally, lower secondary completion rate for poorest quintile is 47% vs. 92% richest.

Statistic 23

UK disadvantaged pupils had 4 months less progress in reading in 2022.

Statistic 24

U.S. bachelor's degree attainment for bottom 20% income is 12% vs. 77% top 20%.

Statistic 25

In low-income U.S. communities, teacher turnover is 20% higher annually.

Statistic 26

Brazil's low-income students score 100+ points lower on PISA than affluent peers.

Statistic 27

In the U.S., low-wage workers have 2.5x higher unemployment duration averaging 30 weeks.

Statistic 28

UK zero-hour contracts disproportionately affect working class at 10% participation.

Statistic 29

Global informal employment is 61% of total, mostly low-class workers.

Statistic 30

Brazil low-skilled jobs grew 15% post-pandemic, absorbing 70% of new employment.

Statistic 31

India’s rural casual labor unemployment hit 8.5% in 2023.

Statistic 32

U.S. service sector low-wage jobs comprise 45% of employment growth since 1980.

Statistic 33

South Africa youth unemployment for low-education is 63% in 2023.

Statistic 34

Germany low-skilled migrant workers face 20% higher underemployment.

Statistic 35

Australia casual employment is 25% of workforce, mostly low-income.

Statistic 36

France minimum wage workers (SMIC) are 17% of employees in 2023.

Statistic 37

Canada precarious employment affects 20% low-SES workers.

Statistic 38

Mexico informal sector employs 55% of workforce, earning 60% less.

Statistic 39

EU long-term unemployment for low-skilled is 45% of total unemployed.

Statistic 40

Japan non-regular employment (low-wage) is 38% of workforce.

Statistic 41

Russia low-education unemployment rate is 7.2% vs. 2.5% high-ed.

Statistic 42

Sweden gig economy workers (low-class) grew 30% since 2018.

Statistic 43

China migrant workers (rural low-class) number 296 million in 2022.

Statistic 44

U.S. Black low-wage workers have 12% unemployment rate.

Statistic 45

Italy youth NEET rate for south low-SES is 35%.

Statistic 46

Spain temporary contracts for low-skilled are 28% of employment.

Statistic 47

U.S. gig workers earn median $25/hour but 40% below poverty line.

Statistic 48

Global youth unemployment for low-education is 15.5%.

Statistic 49

UK low-skilled men labor participation fell to 75% in 2023.

Statistic 50

Nigeria underemployment for poor is 50%.

Statistic 51

U.S. low-wage jobs have 50% higher quit rates annually.

Statistic 52

In the U.S., life expectancy for lowest income quartile is 76.2 years vs. 88.8 for highest.

Statistic 53

UK working-class men have 9.5 years lower life expectancy than professionals.

Statistic 54

Global maternal mortality ratio for poorest quintile is 3x higher than richest.

Statistic 55

In India, low-SES groups have infant mortality 2.5x higher (47 vs. 19 per 1,000).

Statistic 56

U.S. low-income adults have 50% higher obesity rates (45% vs. 30%).

Statistic 57

Brazil's favelas report 25% higher COVID-19 mortality than affluent areas.

Statistic 58

South Africa's life expectancy gap between poor/rich is 14 years.

Statistic 59

Germany low-income have 2x higher diabetes prevalence (12% vs. 6%).

Statistic 60

Australia's Indigenous (often low-SES) life expectancy is 8.3 years lower.

Statistic 61

France manual workers have 40% higher cancer mortality risk.

Statistic 62

Canada low-income have 30% higher hospitalization rates for preventable diseases.

Statistic 63

Mexico poor quintile has 3x higher stunting in children (25% vs. 8%).

Statistic 64

EU low-education men have 5.5 years lower life expectancy.

Statistic 65

Japan low-income elderly have 20% higher suicide rates.

Statistic 66

Russia working class has 15% higher cardiovascular death rates.

Statistic 67

Sweden low-SES have 2.5x higher mental health treatment needs.

Statistic 68

China rural poor have 10 years lower life expectancy than urban rich.

Statistic 69

U.S. poor neighborhoods have 2x homicide rates (15 vs. 7 per 100k).

Statistic 70

Italy southern low-income regions have 4 years lower LE (81 vs. 85).

Statistic 71

Spain gypsy community (low-SES) has 12.3 years lower LE.

Statistic 72

U.S. Medicaid enrollees have 25% higher depression prevalence.

Statistic 73

Global poor bear 90% of malaria burden despite 50% population.

Statistic 74

UK deprived areas have 2x higher drug overdose deaths.

Statistic 75

Nigeria low-SES have child mortality 5x higher (150 vs. 30 per 1k).

Statistic 76

U.S. bottom income decile spends 5x more days sick annually.

Statistic 77

In the U.S., 40% of renter households (low-class) spend over 30% income on housing.

Statistic 78

UK social housing waitlists total 1.2 million households in 2023.

Statistic 79

Global slum population is 1 billion, mostly low-income class.

Statistic 80

Brazil favelas house 11 million in informal low-class settlements.

Statistic 81

India 65 million live in urban slums with poor sanitation.

Statistic 82

U.S. homeless population is 653,000, 60% unsheltered low-income.

Statistic 83

South Africa 2.5 million backyard dwellers in informal housing.

Statistic 84

Germany 600,000 live in inadequate housing, mostly low-SES migrants.

Statistic 85

Australia 122,000 homeless nightly, indigenous low-class overrepresented.

Statistic 86

France 300,000 homeless, 40% working poor.

Statistic 87

Canada 235,000 experience homelessness yearly, low-income driven.

Statistic 88

Mexico 20% urban poor in irregular settlements without services.

Statistic 89

EU 4 million live in severe housing deprivation.

Statistic 90

Japan 4% elderly low-income live in substandard housing.

Statistic 91

Russia 15 million in dilapidated housing stock, low-class majority.

Statistic 92

Sweden housing shortage affects 600,000 low-income households.

Statistic 93

China 300 million rural poor migrated to urban substandard housing.

Statistic 94

U.S. low-income households 1 in 7 evicted annually.

Statistic 95

Italy southern regions have 30% overcrowding in low-income homes.

Statistic 96

Spain 2.4 million at risk of residential exclusion.

Statistic 97

U.S. public housing serves 1.8 million low-income families.

Statistic 98

Global 2.4 billion lack adequate housing improvements needed.

Statistic 99

UK 24% children in low-income homes in fuel poverty.

Statistic 100

Nigeria 70% urban dwellers in slums.

Statistic 101

U.S. low-rent housing quality issues affect 7 million units.

Statistic 102

In the United States, the Gini coefficient for income inequality reached 0.494 in 2021, the highest since 2016, indicating significant disparity between income classes.

Statistic 103

Globally, the bottom 50% of the population holds just 2% of global wealth as of 2022, while the top 10% holds 76%.

Statistic 104

In the UK, 14.5 million people were in poverty in 2022/23, equating to 22% of the population, with 8.1 million in deep poverty.

Statistic 105

India's poverty rate fell from 16% in 2011-12 to 5% in 2022-23 based on consumption expenditure, lifting 415 million out of multidimensional poverty.

Statistic 106

In Brazil, the extreme poverty rate dropped to 4.4% in 2022 from 6.5% in 2012, affecting 9.5 million people.

Statistic 107

The U.S. child poverty rate was 12.4% in 2022 under the official measure, but 5.8% under the Supplemental Poverty Measure.

Statistic 108

In South Africa, 55.5% of the population lived below the upper-middle-income poverty line of R1,558 per person per month in 2023.

Statistic 109

Germany's at-risk-of-poverty rate stood at 16.8% in 2022, affecting 14.2 million people.

Statistic 110

In Australia, 3.3 million people (13.4%) were living below the poverty line in 2022, including 761,000 children.

Statistic 111

France's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2022, with 9 million people below the monetary poverty threshold.

Statistic 112

In Canada, 3.4 million Canadians (11.4%) lived in poverty in 2022, down from 12.4% in 2020.

Statistic 113

Mexico's poverty rate increased to 36.3% in 2022 from 33.6% in 2020, affecting 46.8 million people.

Statistic 114

In the EU, 95.5 million people (21.6%) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2023.

Statistic 115

Japan's relative poverty rate for households was 15.4% in 2021, highest among OECD countries for single-parent households at 44.5%.

Statistic 116

In Russia, 9.8% of the population lived below the subsistence minimum in 2023, down from 12.1% in 2019.

Statistic 117

Sweden's poverty rate after social transfers was 0.4% in 2021 using the 50% median income threshold.

Statistic 118

In China, extreme poverty was eradicated by 2021, with the national poverty headcount ratio at 0.7% in 2015 terms.

Statistic 119

The U.S. median household income rose to $74,580 in 2022, a 2.3% increase from 2021 after inflation adjustment.

Statistic 120

In Italy, 22.3% of the population was at risk of poverty in 2022, with southern regions exceeding 35%.

Statistic 121

Spain's poverty risk rate was 20.2% in 2022, affecting 9.5 million people.

Statistic 122

In the U.S., 37.9 million people lived in poverty in 2022, with rates highest among Blacks at 17.1% and Hispanics at 16.8%.

Statistic 123

Globally, 712 million people lived in extreme poverty (below $2.15/day) in 2022.

Statistic 124

In the UK, working households made up 63% of those in poverty in 2022/23.

Statistic 125

Nigeria's poverty rate was 38.9% in 2023, with 87 million people multidimensionally poor.

Statistic 126

In 2022, U.S. households in the lowest quintile earned 2.9% of aggregate income, while the top quintile earned 52.2%.

Statistic 127

Europe's at-risk-of-poverty threshold averaged €11,816 for a single person in 2022.

Statistic 128

In India, rural poverty incidence was 7.2% in 2022-23 compared to 4.6% urban.

Statistic 129

The U.S. Supplemental Poverty Measure rate for elderly was 10.2% in 2022 vs. 17.8% for children.

Statistic 130

In 2021, OECD countries saw average disposable income inequality (Gini 0.314 after transfers).

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The stark reality of modern class is a global story told not in dollars or data alone, but in the life-and-death disparities that shape our world.

Key Takeaways

In the United States, the Gini coefficient for income inequality reached 0.494 in 2021, the highest since 2016, indicating significant disparity between income classes.
Globally, the bottom 50% of the population holds just 2% of global wealth as of 2022, while the top 10% holds 76%.
In the UK, 14.5 million people were in poverty in 2022/23, equating to 22% of the population, with 8.1 million in deep poverty.
In the U.S., high school dropouts had a poverty rate of 25.7% in 2022.
Globally, 244 million children and youth are out of school, disproportionately from lower classes.
In the UK, 23% of children eligible for free school meals achieved a good level of development at age 5 in 2022.
In the U.S., life expectancy for lowest income quartile is 76.2 years vs. 88.8 for highest.
UK working-class men have 9.5 years lower life expectancy than professionals.
Global maternal mortality ratio for poorest quintile is 3x higher than richest.
In the U.S., low-wage workers have 2.5x higher unemployment duration averaging 30 weeks.
UK zero-hour contracts disproportionately affect working class at 10% participation.
Global informal employment is 61% of total, mostly low-class workers.
In the U.S., 40% of renter households (low-class) spend over 30% income on housing.
UK social housing waitlists total 1.2 million households in 2023.
Global slum population is 1 billion, mostly low-income class.

Income inequality and widespread poverty reveal deep global class divides.

Education Levels

In the U.S., high school dropouts had a poverty rate of 25.7% in 2022.
Globally, 244 million children and youth are out of school, disproportionately from lower classes.
In the UK, 23% of children eligible for free school meals achieved a good level of development at age 5 in 2022.
U.S. college completion rate for lowest income quartile is 9% vs. 54% for highest quartile.
In Brazil, 91% of top income decile completed secondary education vs. 28% in bottom decile in 2022.
India's gross enrollment ratio in higher education was 28.4% in 2021-22, lower in rural low-income areas.
In South Africa, 30% of children from poorest households attend no preschool vs. 4% from richest.
Germany's PISA math scores for disadvantaged students were 80 points below advantaged in 2022.
Australia’s Year 12 completion rate for low SES students was 78.5% in 2022 vs. 96% high SES.
France saw 18% of low-income students drop out of secondary school in 2022.
Canada's postsecondary attainment for bottom income quintile is 42% vs. 72% top in 2021.
Mexico's indigenous students have literacy rates 20% lower than non-indigenous low-income peers.
EU average, 11.2% early school leavers from low-education families in 2023.
Japan's university enrollment for low-income households is 40% below national average.
Russia’s PISA reading gap between advantaged/disadvantaged students is 92 points.
Sweden's grade point average gap between high/low SES students is 0.8 grades.
China's rural students score 50 points lower in PISA science than urban.
U.S. low-income students have 25% lower NAEP math proficiency at grade 8.
Italy's NEET rate for low-educated youth is 28% vs. 12% high-educated.
Spain early school leaving rate for low SES is 25% in 2023.
In the U.S., 54% of low-income adults have low literacy skills (Level 1 or below).
Globally, lower secondary completion rate for poorest quintile is 47% vs. 92% richest.
UK disadvantaged pupils had 4 months less progress in reading in 2022.
U.S. bachelor's degree attainment for bottom 20% income is 12% vs. 77% top 20%.
In low-income U.S. communities, teacher turnover is 20% higher annually.
Brazil's low-income students score 100+ points lower on PISA than affluent peers.

Education Levels Interpretation

The world has built a school for the rich, and called it a system for everyone.

Employment and Unemployment

In the U.S., low-wage workers have 2.5x higher unemployment duration averaging 30 weeks.
UK zero-hour contracts disproportionately affect working class at 10% participation.
Global informal employment is 61% of total, mostly low-class workers.
Brazil low-skilled jobs grew 15% post-pandemic, absorbing 70% of new employment.
India’s rural casual labor unemployment hit 8.5% in 2023.
U.S. service sector low-wage jobs comprise 45% of employment growth since 1980.
South Africa youth unemployment for low-education is 63% in 2023.
Germany low-skilled migrant workers face 20% higher underemployment.
Australia casual employment is 25% of workforce, mostly low-income.
France minimum wage workers (SMIC) are 17% of employees in 2023.
Canada precarious employment affects 20% low-SES workers.
Mexico informal sector employs 55% of workforce, earning 60% less.
EU long-term unemployment for low-skilled is 45% of total unemployed.
Japan non-regular employment (low-wage) is 38% of workforce.
Russia low-education unemployment rate is 7.2% vs. 2.5% high-ed.
Sweden gig economy workers (low-class) grew 30% since 2018.
China migrant workers (rural low-class) number 296 million in 2022.
U.S. Black low-wage workers have 12% unemployment rate.
Italy youth NEET rate for south low-SES is 35%.
Spain temporary contracts for low-skilled are 28% of employment.
U.S. gig workers earn median $25/hour but 40% below poverty line.
Global youth unemployment for low-education is 15.5%.
UK low-skilled men labor participation fell to 75% in 2023.
Nigeria underemployment for poor is 50%.
U.S. low-wage jobs have 50% higher quit rates annually.

Employment and Unemployment Interpretation

Across the globe, the ladder of economic opportunity is proving to be a greased pole for the working class, who are disproportionately funneled into insecure, low-wage roles that offer little stability and even less chance of escape.

Health and Mortality

In the U.S., life expectancy for lowest income quartile is 76.2 years vs. 88.8 for highest.
UK working-class men have 9.5 years lower life expectancy than professionals.
Global maternal mortality ratio for poorest quintile is 3x higher than richest.
In India, low-SES groups have infant mortality 2.5x higher (47 vs. 19 per 1,000).
U.S. low-income adults have 50% higher obesity rates (45% vs. 30%).
Brazil's favelas report 25% higher COVID-19 mortality than affluent areas.
South Africa's life expectancy gap between poor/rich is 14 years.
Germany low-income have 2x higher diabetes prevalence (12% vs. 6%).
Australia's Indigenous (often low-SES) life expectancy is 8.3 years lower.
France manual workers have 40% higher cancer mortality risk.
Canada low-income have 30% higher hospitalization rates for preventable diseases.
Mexico poor quintile has 3x higher stunting in children (25% vs. 8%).
EU low-education men have 5.5 years lower life expectancy.
Japan low-income elderly have 20% higher suicide rates.
Russia working class has 15% higher cardiovascular death rates.
Sweden low-SES have 2.5x higher mental health treatment needs.
China rural poor have 10 years lower life expectancy than urban rich.
U.S. poor neighborhoods have 2x homicide rates (15 vs. 7 per 100k).
Italy southern low-income regions have 4 years lower LE (81 vs. 85).
Spain gypsy community (low-SES) has 12.3 years lower LE.
U.S. Medicaid enrollees have 25% higher depression prevalence.
Global poor bear 90% of malaria burden despite 50% population.
UK deprived areas have 2x higher drug overdose deaths.
Nigeria low-SES have child mortality 5x higher (150 vs. 30 per 1k).
U.S. bottom income decile spends 5x more days sick annually.

Health and Mortality Interpretation

It appears our world has perfected a rather grim magic trick, making the simple act of being poor a statistically proven method to vanish years from your life, opportunities from your health, and justice from your death certificate.

Housing and Living Standards

In the U.S., 40% of renter households (low-class) spend over 30% income on housing.
UK social housing waitlists total 1.2 million households in 2023.
Global slum population is 1 billion, mostly low-income class.
Brazil favelas house 11 million in informal low-class settlements.
India 65 million live in urban slums with poor sanitation.
U.S. homeless population is 653,000, 60% unsheltered low-income.
South Africa 2.5 million backyard dwellers in informal housing.
Germany 600,000 live in inadequate housing, mostly low-SES migrants.
Australia 122,000 homeless nightly, indigenous low-class overrepresented.
France 300,000 homeless, 40% working poor.
Canada 235,000 experience homelessness yearly, low-income driven.
Mexico 20% urban poor in irregular settlements without services.
EU 4 million live in severe housing deprivation.
Japan 4% elderly low-income live in substandard housing.
Russia 15 million in dilapidated housing stock, low-class majority.
Sweden housing shortage affects 600,000 low-income households.
China 300 million rural poor migrated to urban substandard housing.
U.S. low-income households 1 in 7 evicted annually.
Italy southern regions have 30% overcrowding in low-income homes.
Spain 2.4 million at risk of residential exclusion.
U.S. public housing serves 1.8 million low-income families.
Global 2.4 billion lack adequate housing improvements needed.
UK 24% children in low-income homes in fuel poverty.
Nigeria 70% urban dwellers in slums.
U.S. low-rent housing quality issues affect 7 million units.

Housing and Living Standards Interpretation

From California to Calcutta, the global housing crisis is a relentless landlord squeezing the lower class into corners that are overcrowded, overpriced, and often not even homes.

Income and Poverty

In the United States, the Gini coefficient for income inequality reached 0.494 in 2021, the highest since 2016, indicating significant disparity between income classes.
Globally, the bottom 50% of the population holds just 2% of global wealth as of 2022, while the top 10% holds 76%.
In the UK, 14.5 million people were in poverty in 2022/23, equating to 22% of the population, with 8.1 million in deep poverty.
India's poverty rate fell from 16% in 2011-12 to 5% in 2022-23 based on consumption expenditure, lifting 415 million out of multidimensional poverty.
In Brazil, the extreme poverty rate dropped to 4.4% in 2022 from 6.5% in 2012, affecting 9.5 million people.
The U.S. child poverty rate was 12.4% in 2022 under the official measure, but 5.8% under the Supplemental Poverty Measure.
In South Africa, 55.5% of the population lived below the upper-middle-income poverty line of R1,558 per person per month in 2023.
Germany's at-risk-of-poverty rate stood at 16.8% in 2022, affecting 14.2 million people.
In Australia, 3.3 million people (13.4%) were living below the poverty line in 2022, including 761,000 children.
France's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2022, with 9 million people below the monetary poverty threshold.
In Canada, 3.4 million Canadians (11.4%) lived in poverty in 2022, down from 12.4% in 2020.
Mexico's poverty rate increased to 36.3% in 2022 from 33.6% in 2020, affecting 46.8 million people.
In the EU, 95.5 million people (21.6%) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2023.
Japan's relative poverty rate for households was 15.4% in 2021, highest among OECD countries for single-parent households at 44.5%.
In Russia, 9.8% of the population lived below the subsistence minimum in 2023, down from 12.1% in 2019.
Sweden's poverty rate after social transfers was 0.4% in 2021 using the 50% median income threshold.
In China, extreme poverty was eradicated by 2021, with the national poverty headcount ratio at 0.7% in 2015 terms.
The U.S. median household income rose to $74,580 in 2022, a 2.3% increase from 2021 after inflation adjustment.
In Italy, 22.3% of the population was at risk of poverty in 2022, with southern regions exceeding 35%.
Spain's poverty risk rate was 20.2% in 2022, affecting 9.5 million people.
In the U.S., 37.9 million people lived in poverty in 2022, with rates highest among Blacks at 17.1% and Hispanics at 16.8%.
Globally, 712 million people lived in extreme poverty (below $2.15/day) in 2022.
In the UK, working households made up 63% of those in poverty in 2022/23.
Nigeria's poverty rate was 38.9% in 2023, with 87 million people multidimensionally poor.
In 2022, U.S. households in the lowest quintile earned 2.9% of aggregate income, while the top quintile earned 52.2%.
Europe's at-risk-of-poverty threshold averaged €11,816 for a single person in 2022.
In India, rural poverty incidence was 7.2% in 2022-23 compared to 4.6% urban.
The U.S. Supplemental Poverty Measure rate for elderly was 10.2% in 2022 vs. 17.8% for children.
In 2021, OECD countries saw average disposable income inequality (Gini 0.314 after transfers).

Income and Poverty Interpretation

Wealth seems to have perfected the art of global hide and seek, with the top 10% holding a three-quarters majority of the world's riches while entire nations struggle to lift their populations out of deep poverty.

Sources & References

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