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Country Comparison :: Distribution of family income - Gini index
This index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its Lorenz curve to the 45 degree line and the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25. The more unequal a country's income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub-Saharan country with an index of 50. If income were distributed with perfect equality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the 45 degree line and the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the horizontal axis and the right vertical axis and the index would be 100.
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Rank
country Distribution of family income - Gini index Date of Information
1 Lesotho
63.2
1995
2 South Africa
63.1
2005
3 Botswana
63.0
1993
4 Sierra Leone
62.9
1989
5 Central African Republic
61.3
1993
6 Namibia
59.7
2010
7 Haiti
59.2
2001
8 Colombia
58.5
2011
9 Honduras
57.7
2007
10 Guatemala
55.1
2007
11 Hong Kong
53.7
2011
12 Thailand
53.6
2009
13 Paraguay
53.2
2009
14 Bolivia
53.0
2010
15 Chile
52.1
2009
16 Panama
51.9
2010 est.
17 Brazil
51.9
2012
18 Papua New Guinea
50.9
1996
19 Zambia
50.8
2004
20 Swaziland
50.4
2001
21 Costa Rica
50.3
2009
22 Gambia, The
50.2
1998
23 Zimbabwe
50.1
2006
24 Sri Lanka
49.0
2010
25 Mexico
48.3
2008
26 Singapore
47.8
2012
27 Ecuador
47.7
December 2012
28 Madagascar
47.5
2001
29 China
47.4
2012
30 Dominican Republic
47.2
2010 est.
31 El Salvador
46.9
2007
32 Rwanda
46.8
2000
33 Malaysia
46.2
2009
34 Peru
46.0
2010
35 Georgia
46.0
2011
36 Argentina
45.8
2009
37 Mozambique
45.6
2008
38 Jamaica
45.5
2004
39 Bulgaria
45.3
2007
40 Uruguay
45.3
2010
41 United States
45.0
2007
42 Philippines
44.8
2009
43 Cameroon
44.6
2001
44 Guyana
44.6
2007
45 Iran
44.5
2006
46 Uganda
44.3
2009
47 Nigeria
43.7
2003
48 Macedonia
43.2
2009
49 Kenya
42.5
2008 est.
50 Burundi
42.4
1998
51 Korea, South
41.9
2011
52 Russia
41.7
2011
53 Cote d'Ivoire
41.5
2008
54 Senegal
41.3
2001
55 Morocco
40.9
2007 est.
56 Turkmenistan
40.8
1998
57 Nicaragua
40.5
2010
58 Turkey
40.2
2010
59 Mali
40.1
2001
60 United Kingdom
40.0
FY08/09
61 Tunisia
40.0
2005 est.
62 Jordan
39.7
2007
63 Burkina Faso
39.5
2007
64 Guinea
39.4
2007
65 Ghana
39.4
2005-06
66 Israel
39.2
2008
67 Mauritania
39.0
2000
68 Mauritius
39.0
2006 est.
69 Venezuela
39.0
2011
70 Malawi
39.0
2004
71 Portugal
38.5
2007
72 Moldova
38.0
2008
73 Cambodia
37.9
2008 est.
74 Yemen
37.7
2005
75 Vietnam
37.6
2008
76 Japan
37.6
2008
77 Tanzania
37.6
2007
78 India
36.8
2004
79 Uzbekistan
36.8
2003
80 Indonesia
36.8
2009
81 Laos
36.7
2008
82 Mongolia
36.5
2008
83 Benin
36.5
2003
84 New Zealand
36.2
1997
85 Bosnia and Herzegovina
36.2
2007
86 Lithuania
35.5
2009
87 Algeria
35.3
1995
88 Latvia
35.2
2010
89 Albania
34.5
2008
90 Egypt
34.4
2001
91 Taiwan
34.2
2011
92 Poland
34.1
2009
93 Niger
34.0
2007
94 Ireland
33.9
2010
95 Azerbaijan
33.7
2008
96 Kyrgyzstan
33.4
2007
97 Romania
33.2
2011
98 Bangladesh
33.2
2005
99 Greece
33.0
2005
100 Nepal
32.8
2010
101 France
32.7
2008
102 Tajikistan
32.6
2006
103 Canada
32.1
2005
104 Spain
32.0
2005
105 Croatia
32.0
2010
106 Timor-Leste
31.9
2007 est.
107 Italy
31.9
2011
108 Estonia
31.3
2010
109 Czech Republic
31.0
2009
110 Armenia
30.9
2008
111 Netherlands
30.9
2007
112 European Union
30.7
2011 est.
113 Pakistan
30.6
FY07/08
114 Australia
30.3
2008
115 Kosovo
30.0
FY05/06
116 Ethiopia
30.0
2000
117 Switzerland
29.6
2010
118 Cyprus
29.0
2005
119 Kazakhstan
28.9
2011
120 Ukraine
28.2
2009
121 Serbia
28.2
2008
122 Belgium
28.0
2005
123 Iceland
28.0
2006
124 Malta
27.4
2011
125 Belarus
27.2
2008
126 Germany
27.0
2006
127 Finland
26.8
2008
128 Austria
26.3
2007
129 Slovakia
26.0
2005
130 Luxembourg
26.0
2005
131 Norway
25.0
2008
132 Denmark
24.8
2011 est.
133 Hungary
24.7
2009
134 Montenegro
24.3
2010
135 Slovenia
23.8
2011
136 Sweden
23.0
2005
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