Gitnux/Report 2026

Economic Inequality Statistics

Find out how inequality is reshaping everyday life, from the EU-27’s Gini of 0.30 for income after taxes and transfers in 2023 to the US top 5 percent taking 35.6 percent of income in 2022. Compare who gains and who falls behind across income gaps, poverty rates, education outcomes, and even access to rent, healthcare, and food.
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May 15, 2026Updated
Economic Inequality Statistics
Min-ji ParkWritten by Min-ji Park·Edited by Jonathan Hale·Fact-checked by Yumi Nakamura
Published ·Updated
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The latest inequality snapshots are stark. In the US, the top 5% held 35.6% of income in 2022 before taxes, while redistribution reduced the Gini by 17% by 2022, showing how much policy can shift outcomes even when gaps stay wide. From rent and healthcare to wealth and education, the disparities behind these measures are uneven across countries and age groups, and the contrast is what makes the dataset worth a close look.

Key Takeaways

  • The World Bank reports that the Gini index for India was 0.36 in 2019 (income inequality measured by Gini).
  • In South Africa, the Gini coefficient was 0.60 in 2021 (income inequality measure).
  • In Nigeria, the Gini coefficient was 0.43 in 2022 (income inequality measure).
  • In France, the S80/S20 income ratio was 4.7 in 2022 (ratio of top to bottom income quintiles).
  • In France, the top 10% of households received 31.0% of income in 2022 (top decile share).
  • In Canada, the income share of the bottom 20% of households was 7.4% in 2022 (share of total after-tax income).
  • In the United States, the top 5% held 35.6% of income in 2022 (pre-tax).
  • There were 2,640 billionaires in the Forbes 2024 list (global count of billionaires).
  • The World Bank estimated that 30.0% of people in the world lived in poverty in 2017 ($2.15/day, 2017 PPP), highlighting inequality-linked hardship (poverty rate indicator often used alongside inequality).
  • In the UK, 12.8% of individuals were in relative poverty in 2023/24 (poverty indicator used alongside inequality).
  • In Spain, 26.6% of people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2023 (EU-SILC metric).
  • In the US, the median weekly earnings gap in 2023 was $349 between men ($1,001) and women ($652), reflecting persistent gender earnings inequality
  • Global wealth ownership: the bottom 50% of adults held 1.1% of global wealth in 2023 (World Wealth Report 2024), highlighting the low-wealth end
  • In Japan, income inequality measured by the Gini coefficient for household income was 0.36 in 2022, indicating substantial income dispersion
  • In the United States, 15.0% of people were food insecure in 2023, showing deprivation patterns linked to inequality

Inequality remains widespread globally, from high Gini values to major poverty and housing hardship.

Related reading

01 · Category

Income Inequality Metrics10 stats

01
The World Bank reports that the Gini index for India was 0.36 in 2019 (income inequality measured by Gini).https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=IN
02
In South Africa, the Gini coefficient was 0.60 in 2021 (income inequality measure).https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=ZA
03
In Nigeria, the Gini coefficient was 0.43 in 2022 (income inequality measure).https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=NG
04
In Mexico, the Gini coefficient was 0.46 in 2022 (income inequality measure).https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=MX
05
In Russia, the Gini coefficient was 0.36 in 2022 (income inequality measure).https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=RU
06
In the EU-27, the Gini coefficient for income inequality was 0.30 in 2023 (after taxes and transfers, Eurostat series used in EU monitoring).https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_di12/default/table?lang=en
07
In Bulgaria, the S80/S20 income ratio was 7.2 in 2023 (top quintile divided by bottom quintile, after taxes and transfers).https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_di11/default/table?lang=en
08
In 2023, the top 1% of earners in the UK received 14.6 times more income than the bottom 10% (income ratio).https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/23801
09
In the US, after taxes and transfers, inequality measured by the Gini coefficient decreased by 17% between market income and disposable income in 2022 (redistribution effect).https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54735
10
The OECD reports that income inequality is higher in the United States than the OECD average: US Gini for disposable income is 0.387 vs OECD average 0.320 in 2022 (comparison of disposable-income Gini).https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm
Interpretation

Income Inequality Metrics Interpretation

Income inequality varies widely across the Income Inequality Metrics, from a relatively lower Gini of 0.30 in the EU-27 to very high levels such as South Africa’s Gini of 0.60, while redistribution in the United States still matters because the Gini falls by 17% from market to disposable income in 2022.

02 · Category

Income Shares3 stats

01
In France, the S80/S20 income ratio was 4.7 in 2022 (ratio of top to bottom income quintiles).https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/series/215605
02
In France, the top 10% of households received 31.0% of income in 2022 (top decile share).https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/series/215607
03
In Canada, the income share of the bottom 20% of households was 7.4% in 2022 (share of total after-tax income).https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110000901
Interpretation

Income Shares Interpretation

In the Income Shares picture of inequality, France shows a clear concentration of income with the top 10% taking 31.0% in 2022 and the S80/S20 ratio reaching 4.7, while Canada’s bottom 20% received only 7.4% of after-tax income in 2022.

03 · Category

Earnings Concentration1 stats

01
In the United States, the top 5% held 35.6% of income in 2022 (pre-tax).https://wid.world/data/
Interpretation

Earnings Concentration Interpretation

In the United States in 2022, the top 5% captured 35.6% of pre tax income, showing a strong concentration of earnings at the very top within the earnings concentration category.

04 · Category

Wealth Inequality1 stats

01
There were 2,640 billionaires in the Forbes 2024 list (global count of billionaires).https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Interpretation

Wealth Inequality Interpretation

With 2,640 billionaires listed by Forbes in 2024, wealth inequality is starkly reflected in the sheer number of ultra rich individuals concentrated at the top of the global economy.

05 · Category

Social Impact Indicators8 stats

01
The World Bank estimated that 30.0% of people in the world lived in poverty in 2017 ($2.15/day, 2017 PPP), highlighting inequality-linked hardship (poverty rate indicator often used alongside inequality).https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview
02
In the UK, 12.8% of individuals were in relative poverty in 2023/24 (poverty indicator used alongside inequality).https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/healthandwellbeing/bulletins/ukpoverty/financialyearending2024
03
In Spain, 26.6% of people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2023 (EU-SILC metric).https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/t2020_52/default/table?lang=en
04
In the OECD, 11.4% of people lived in relative poverty in 2022 (income poverty indicator used in OECD Social Policy reports).https://www.oecd.org/social/society-and-poverty/poverty-income-distribution.htm
05
In the OECD, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are 2.5 times as likely to be low performers as advantaged students in PISA 2022 (education inequality indicator).https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2022-results-volume-2-education-and-socio-economic-status.pdf
06
In the United States, the median rent as a share of income for renters with income under $50k was 42.0% in 2022 (housing affordability and inequality).https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Harvard_JCHS_Affordable-Rentals_2024.pdf
07
In the United States, 18.6% of people reported being uninsured in 2023 (health coverage inequality metric).https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur202406.pdf
08
The RAND Corporation found that in the US, children in poverty experience a 2.9x higher rate of developmental vulnerability than non-poor children (inequality-to-development linkage).https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA110-2.html
Interpretation

Social Impact Indicators Interpretation

Across Social Impact Indicators, inequality is translating into measurable hardship, from 30.0% of people living in poverty globally in 2017 to stark gaps such as US uninsured rates of 18.6% in 2023 and children in poverty facing 2.9 times higher developmental vulnerability than non-poor children.

More related reading

06 · Category

Labor Market Inequality1 stats

01
In the US, the median weekly earnings gap in 2023 was $349between men ($1,001) and women ($652), reflecting persistent gender earnings inequalityhttps://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat38.htm
Interpretation

Labor Market Inequality Interpretation

In the labor market, the gender earnings gap persists with men earning a median weekly $349 more than women in 2023 ($1,001 versus $652), highlighting ongoing inequality in pay.

07 · Category

Wealth & Income Shares1 stats

01
Global wealth ownership: the bottom 50% of adults held 1.1% of global wealth in 2023 (World Wealth Report 2024), highlighting the low-wealth endhttps://www.ubs.com/global/en/wealth-management/insights/global-wealth-report.html
Interpretation

Wealth & Income Shares Interpretation

In the Wealth & Income Shares lens, the bottom 50% of adults owned just 1.1% of global wealth in 2023, underscoring how extreme concentration leaves most people with very little.

08 · Category

Income Distribution1 stats

01
In Japan, income inequality measured by the Gini coefficient for household income was 0.36 in 2022, indicating substantial income dispersionhttps://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/index.html
Interpretation

Income Distribution Interpretation

For the income distribution category, Japan’s household income Gini coefficient of 0.36 in 2022 signals a substantial spread in earnings, pointing to meaningful income inequality.

09 · Category

Poverty & Deprivation2 stats

01
In the United States, 15.0% of people were food insecure in 2023, showing deprivation patterns linked to inequalityhttps://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/
02
In the United States, 23.2% of children lived in households with income below 200% of the federal poverty level in 2023, indicating inequality-linked child economic vulnerabilityhttps://www.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-283.html
Interpretation

Poverty & Deprivation Interpretation

In the Poverty & Deprivation landscape in the United States, 15.0% of people were food insecure in 2023 and 23.2% of children lived in households below 200% of the federal poverty level, underscoring how economic inequality drives both hunger and child hardship at the same time.

10 · Category

Housing Inequality1 stats

01
In the United States, 4.7% of households were considered to be homeless at any point in 2023 (annual point-in-time measure), reflecting severe housing deprivationhttps://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/assth/2023%20Assth/data%20doc.html
Interpretation

Housing Inequality Interpretation

In the United States, 4.7% of households were homeless at some point in 2023, underscoring how housing inequality can translate into acute, widespread deprivation rather than just differences in income or wealth.
Reference

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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Economic Inequality Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/economic-inequality-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Economic Inequality Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/economic-inequality-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Economic Inequality Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/economic-inequality-statistics.

Sources & references

29 datasets cited across this report

data.worldbank.orginsee.frwww150.statcan.gc.caec.europa.euwid.worldforbes.comifs.org.ukstats.oecd.orgdata.oecd.orgworldbank.orgons.gov.ukoecd.orgjchs.harvard.educdc.govrand.orgbls.govubs.comstat.go.jpers.usda.govhuduser.govcensus.gov

+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)