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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.
Download Data
Rank
country Distribution of family income - Gini index Date of Information
1 Namibia
70.7
2003
2 South Africa
65.0
2005
3 Lesotho
63.2
1995
4 Botswana
63.0
1993
5 Sierra Leone
62.9
1989
6 Central African Republic
61.3
1993
7 Haiti
59.2
2001
8 Bolivia
58.2
2009
9 Honduras
57.7
2007
10 Colombia
56.0
2010
11 Guatemala
55.1
2007
12 Thailand
53.6
2009
13 Hong Kong
53.3
2007
14 Paraguay
53.2
2009
15 Chile
52.1
2009
16 Brazil
51.9
2012
17 Panama
51.9
2010 est.
18 Mexico
51.7
2008
19 Papua New Guinea
50.9
1996
20 Zambia
50.8
2004
21 Swaziland
50.4
2001
22 Costa Rica
50.3
2009
23 Gambia, The
50.2
1998
24 Zimbabwe
50.1
2006
25 Sri Lanka
49.0
2010
26 Dominican Republic
48.4
2007
27 China
48.0
2009
28 Madagascar
47.5
2001
29 Singapore
47.3
2011
30 Ecuador
47.3
June 2011
31 El Salvador
46.9
2007
32 Rwanda
46.8
2000
33 Malaysia
46.2
2009
34 Peru
46.0
2010
35 Argentina
45.8
2009
36 Philippines
45.8
2006
37 Mozambique
45.6
2008
38 Jamaica
45.5
2004
39 Uruguay
45.3
2010
40 Bulgaria
45.3
2007
41 United States
45.0
2007
42 Guyana
44.6
2007
43 Cameroon
44.6
2001
44 Iran
44.5
2006
45 Cambodia
44.4
2007 est.
46 Uganda
44.3
2009
47 Macedonia
44.2
2008
48 Nigeria
43.7
2003
49 Kenya
42.5
2008 est.
50 Burundi
42.4
1998
51 Russia
42.0
2010
52 Cote d'Ivoire
41.5
2008
53 Senegal
41.3
2001
54 Morocco
40.9
2007 est.
55 Georgia
40.8
2009
56 Turkmenistan
40.8
1998
57 Nicaragua
40.5
2010
58 Turkey
40.2
2010
59 Mali
40.1
2001
60 Tunisia
40.0
2005 est.
61 Jordan
39.7
2007
62 Burkina Faso
39.5
2007
63 Guinea
39.4
2007
64 Ghana
39.4
2005-06
65 Israel
39.2
2008
66 Mauritania
39.0
2000
67 Mauritius
39.0
2006 est.
68 Venezuela
39.0
2011
69 Malawi
39.0
2004
70 Portugal
38.5
2007
71 Moldova
38.0
2008
72 Yemen
37.7
2005
73 Vietnam
37.6
2008
74 Japan
37.6
2008
75 Tanzania
37.6
2007
76 India
36.8
2004
77 Uzbekistan
36.8
2003
78 Indonesia
36.8
2009
79 Laos
36.7
2008
80 Mongolia
36.5
2008
81 Benin
36.5
2003
82 New Zealand
36.2
1997
83 Bosnia and Herzegovina
36.2
2007
84 Lithuania
35.5
2009
85 Algeria
35.3
1995
86 Latvia
35.2
2010
87 Albania
34.5
2008
88 Egypt
34.4
2001
89 Poland
34.2
2008
90 United Kingdom
34.0
2005
91 Niger
34.0
2007
92 Ireland
33.9
2010
93 Azerbaijan
33.7
2008
94 Switzerland
33.7
2008
95 Kyrgyzstan
33.4
2007
96 Romania
33.3
2010
97 Bangladesh
33.2
2005
98 Greece
33.0
2005
99 Nepal
32.8
2010
100 France
32.7
2008
101 Taiwan
32.6
2000
102 Tajikistan
32.6
2006
103 Canada
32.1
2005
104 Spain
32.0
2005
105 Croatia
32.0
2010
106 Italy
31.9
2011
107 Timor-Leste
31.9
2007 est.
108 Estonia
31.3
2010
109 Korea, South
31.0
2010
110 Czech Republic
31.0
2009
111 Armenia
30.9
2008
112 Netherlands
30.9
2007
113 European Union
30.7
2011 est.
114 Pakistan
30.6
FY07/08
115 Australia
30.5
2006
116 Kosovo
30.0
FY05/06
117 Ethiopia
30.0
2000
118 Cyprus
29.0
2005
119 Slovenia
28.4
2008
120 Serbia
28.2
2008
121 Belgium
28.0
2005
122 Iceland
28.0
2006
123 Ukraine
27.5
2008
124 Malta
27.4
2011
125 Belarus
27.2
2008
126 Germany
27.0
2006
127 Finland
26.8
2008
128 Kazakhstan
26.7
2009
129 Austria
26.0
2007
130 Luxembourg
26.0
2005
131 Slovakia
26.0
2005
132 Norway
25.0
2008
133 Denmark
24.8
2011 est.
134 Hungary
24.7
2009
135 Montenegro
24.3
2010
136 Sweden
23.0
2005
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