Income inequality statistics at a glance
Income inequality is one of those topics where a few ratios can hide a much larger story. The statistics below show how unevenly income and wealth are distributed across countries, and how strongly people themselves feel about those gaps.
Quick facts
- The OECD reports that in 2021 the average top-10-to-bottom-10 income ratio across OECD countries was 8.4 to 1 (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
- That same ratio was 5 to 1 in the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, but more than 20 to 1 in Chile and Costa Rica (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
- The top 10% of households owned 79% of total household wealth in the United States (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
- In the OECD Risks that Matter Survey 2022, over 60% of respondents said income disparities were too high or far too high in their country (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
- The U.S. Census Bureau reported that income inequality was not significantly different between 2022 and 2023 based on the Gini index and income percentile ratios (Income in the United States: 2023).
Contents
- What the core inequality measures show
- How the OECD countries compare
- What the world distribution looks like
- What the U.S. distribution looks like
- How to read the numbers
- Useful places to keep tracking inequality
What the core inequality measures show
Income inequality statistics usually start with ratios and indexes because they turn a messy distribution into something easier to compare. The OECD data gives one of the clearest snapshots: in 2021, the average income ratio between the top 10% and the bottom 10% across OECD countries was 8.4 to 1 (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
That average still hides a lot of variation. In the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the ratio was only 5 to 1 (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). At the other end, Chile and Costa Rica were both above 20 to 1 (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). That spread matters because it shows inequality is not just a broad global theme. It is a measurable policy and labor-market outcome that can vary sharply across otherwise comparable economies.
The Gini coefficient is the other common shorthand. Among OECD countries, the 2021 Gini coefficient ranged from around 0.22 in the Slovak Republic to more than twice that value in Chile and Costa Rica (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). For partner economies, the OECD reports Gini values of 0.29 in Croatia, 0.32 in Bulgaria, and 0.38 in Romania (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). South Africa stood out with a Gini of 0.62 in 2017 (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
How the OECD countries compare
A compact way to compare the OECD figures is to line up the most visible ratios and Gini values.
| Measure | Low end | Average / reference | High end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10% to bottom 10% income ratio | 5 to 1 in the Slovak Republic and Slovenia (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) | 8.4 to 1 across OECD countries in 2021 (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) | More than 20 to 1 in Chile and Costa Rica (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) |
| Gini coefficient | Around 0.22 in the Slovak Republic (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) | Varies by country and measure set (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) | More than twice 0.22 in Chile and Costa Rica (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) |
| Partner-economy Gini | 0.29 in Croatia (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) | 0.32 in Bulgaria (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) | 0.38 in Romania (OECD Society at a Glance 2024) |
The table is useful because it shows that inequality statistics are not interchangeable. A ratio, a coefficient, and a wealth share can point to the same broad pattern while still emphasizing different parts of the distribution. The top-10-to-bottom-10 ratio focuses on the distance between extremes. The Gini coefficient captures overall dispersion. Wealth shares show concentration in accumulated assets rather than just current income.
The OECD also puts public sentiment into the picture. In the Risks that Matter Survey 2022, over 60% of respondents said income disparities were too high or far too high in their country, and over 60% said wealth disparities were too high or far too high (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). That is important because inequality is not only a statistical construct. It is also a social perception issue, and the public often notices it directly.
Another OECD comparison that is easy to miss is the gap in median disposable household income. In 2021, Luxembourg?s median disposable household income was eight times higher than Mexico?s, and Luxembourg?s median was about twice Estonia?s (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). Those are large differences even before you look at the richest and poorest groups inside each country.
What the world distribution looks like
The World Inequality Report 2022 gives a broader lens than the OECD alone. It summarizes income and wealth at the global level, which helps separate national inequality from worldwide concentration.
The report says the global top 10% earns 52% of total income, while the global middle 40% earns 39.5% and the global bottom 50% earns just 8.5% (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1). That is a severe skew, but the income picture is only part of the story. At market exchange rates in 2021, the top 10% of the world?s wealth owners held almost 82% of global wealth, while the bottom 50% held less than 1% (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1).
These figures are easier to absorb when they are placed side by side.
| Global group | Income share | Wealth share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10% | 52% of total income (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1) | Almost 82% of global wealth at market exchange rates (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1) | Highest concentration in both income and wealth |
| Middle 40% | 39.5% of total income (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1) | Not stated in the dataset | Sits between the top and bottom segments |
| Bottom 50% | 8.5% of total income (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1) | Less than 1% of global wealth at market exchange rates (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1) | Receives a small share relative to its population size |
The same report also puts the population structure into context. The global bottom 50% consists of 2.5 billion adults, the middle 40% consists of 2.0 billion adults, and the adult population used in the report is 5.1 billion people as of 2021 (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1). The world population including children is 7.8 billion as of 2021 (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1). That means the distribution is not a niche issue affecting a tiny minority. It describes billions of people.
One of the most striking lines in the dataset is the comparison between the current distribution and a hypothetical equal split. If all incomes were split equally, everyone would earn ?16,700 per year, while the report places the average income of the middle 40% at ?16,500 per year (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1). That simple contrast shows how far the middle of the global distribution sits from the headline income average.
The report also says the gap between the average incomes of the top 10% and bottom 50% within countries has almost doubled, from 8.5x to 15x (World Inequality Report 2022 executive summary). That is a useful reminder that inequality is not frozen. It can widen over time even when it looks stable in a single year snapshot.
What the U.S. distribution looks like
The U.S. data in this set is especially useful because it combines household wealth concentration with Census reporting on income inequality. The OECD says the top 10% of households owned 79% of total household wealth in the United States (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). The World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet gives a slightly different wealth figure, saying the top 10% owned 70.7% of household wealth and earned 17 times more than the bottom 50% (World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet). The difference reflects source and method variation, which is normal when comparing inequality series. The important point is that both sources point in the same direction: wealth is highly concentrated.
Income shares show the same structure. In the United States, the bottom 50% earned 13.3% of national income, the top 10% earned 45.5%, and the top 1% earned 18.8% (World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet). That means a very small slice of households receives a large share of income, while half the population gets a relatively small portion of the total.
Here is a compact U.S.-focused comparison from the dataset.
| U.S. measure | Value | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Top 10% household wealth share | 79% of total household wealth | OECD Society at a Glance 2024 |
| Top 10% household wealth share | 70.7% of household wealth | World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet |
| Bottom 50% income share | 13.3% of national income | World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet |
| Top 10% income share | 45.5% of national income | World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet |
| Top 1% income share | 18.8% of national income | World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet |
| Top 10% to bottom 50% income multiple | 17 to 1 | World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet |
The Census data adds an important year-over-year check. The Income in the United States: 2023 report says income inequality measured by the Gini index and income percentile ratios was not significantly different between 2022 and 2023 (Income in the United States: 2023). That tells you two things at once. First, the level of inequality remained elevated. Second, the short-run change from one year to the next was not statistically meaningful in that report.
The report itself is based on the 2024 and earlier CPS ASEC and covers calendar year 2023 (Income in the United States: 2023). It is Report Number P60-282 and was published in September 2024 (Income in the United States: 2023). For longer-run context, the Census Historical Income Tables track household income dispersion back to 1967, including Table A-4a for selected measures from 1967 to 2024, Table A-5 for equivalence-adjusted dispersion from 1967 to 2024, Table H-2 for income shares by fifth and the top 5% of households, Table H-4 for Gini indexes by race and Hispanic origin of householder, and Table F-4 for Gini indexes of families by race and Hispanic origin of householder (Historical Income Tables: Income Inequality).
How to read the numbers
A useful way to read income inequality statistics is to ask what each metric can and cannot tell you.
Ratios
Ratios are easy to understand. A 5 to 1 gap is visibly smaller than a 20 to 1 gap, and both are easier to explain than a coefficient. But ratios emphasize the extremes. They do not show what happens in the middle of the distribution.
Gini coefficients
Gini values help compare broad inequality levels across countries and across time. In this dataset, you can see values around 0.22 at the low end in the OECD, around 0.29 to 0.38 in several partner economies, and 0.62 in South Africa (OECD Society at a Glance 2024). That range suggests not just mild differences, but very different income structures.
Income and wealth shares
Shares are the cleanest way to show concentration. If the top 10% receives 45.5% of income in the United States and owns 70.7% or 79% of household wealth depending on the source, the concentration story is hard to miss (World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet; OECD Society at a Glance 2024). Shares also make it easier to compare segments of the population without reducing everything to a single index.
Public perception
Survey data matters because inequality is not only about measurement. When more than 60% of respondents in the OECD survey say income disparities are too high or far too high, and more than 60% say the same about wealth disparities, the social pressure around the topic becomes visible in the data itself (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
Time trends
Time series tell you whether inequality is widening, narrowing, or staying put. The Census finding that inequality was not significantly different between 2022 and 2023 is a short-run example (Income in the United States: 2023). The World Inequality Report finding that the gap between the average incomes of the top 10% and bottom 50% within countries has almost doubled over the long run is the long-run version (World Inequality Report 2022 executive summary).
Useful places to keep tracking inequality
If you are tracking this topic over time, these are the most useful data families from the source set:
- OECD Society at a Glance 2024 for country comparisons, income ratios, Gini values, wealth concentration, and survey sentiment (OECD Society at a Glance 2024).
- U.S. Census Bureau Income in the United States: 2023 for annual U.S. inequality changes and short-run movement in the Gini index and percentile ratios (Income in the United States: 2023).
- U.S. Census Historical Income Tables for long-run U.S. dispersion trends back to 1967 and breakdowns by household type and race/Hispanic origin (Historical Income Tables: Income Inequality).
- World Inequality Report 2022 for global income and wealth shares, country sheets, and long-run inequality framing (World Inequality Report 2022 chapter 1; World Inequality Report 2022 country sheet).
These sources do not tell the same story in exactly the same way, and that is the point. Income inequality statistics are strongest when you read them together: ratios for extremes, Gini for dispersion, shares for concentration, and time series for direction.