The Income Divide

When you split each economy into fifths, how much of national income does the top fifth hold — and how far below sits the bottom?

Each row joins the poorest fifth's income share (left dot) to the richest fifth's (right dot); the bar is the gap between them. Brazil's richest fifth holds 55.4% of income against the poorest fifth's 3.9% — a spread of over 51 points — while India's ends sit closest, 36.1% against 10.4%. Survey years differ, so read the shape of each row, not a common date.

Read the start, the end and the size of the gap.

A longer bar means a wider gap between top and bottom fifths. The dots are shares of the same 100%, so a fatter right dot must be paid for by thinner shares elsewhere.

• Brazil is the clear outlier: its richest fifth takes about fourteen times the poorest fifth's share (55.4% vs 3.9%), the widest gap and the highest Gini in the set (50.3).
• The United States is the unequal advanced economy — a Gini of 41.8 and a top fifth on 47.1%, closer to China (43.7%, Gini 36.0) than to Germany or Japan.
• India anchors the equal end: its poorest fifth (10.4%) is the only one in double digits and its Gini (25.5) the lowest here — narrow gaps, but measured at a far lower average income than the rich economies.

• Does a wide income gap track a slack labour market?→The Unemployment Divide
• How do these economies compare on average income?→The Income Gap
• Is inequality concentrated in the biggest cities?→Into the Cities