Which countries have the most income equality? In this article, we have listed the 30 Countries with the Most Income Equality.
Global Income Distribution
Global inequalities are in bad shape and appear to be getting worse overall. Disparities today are enormous and the impacts of global pandemics and wars have affected income equality in many countries. In addition, high interest rates and inflation have also increased income disparities. According to the International Monetary Fund, global inflation stands at around 5.9% in 2024, which is quite high despite dropping from 6.8% in 2023. Moreover, high income tax rates in Europe immensely impact income equality across the region.
Countries have more disparities in wealth equality compared to income equality. The majority of wealth inequality is concentrated in Africa. Countries including Lesotho, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, and Nigeria are leading African countries with the highest wealth inequality. According to the World Inequality Report 2022, the share of the bottom 50% of the world, excluding Europe, in total earnings is less than 15%. Whereas, the same share of the world’s 50% bottom population is less than 10% in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the MENAS region. An average individual adult in 2021 was earning around $23,380 per year, while the average adult possessed $102,600. On average the richest top 10% of the world earns around $122,100 per year compared to $3,920 earned by the poorest half of the global population.
On the other hand, the world’s richest 10% people share over 40% of the total global earnings, and in some regions, it is around a whopping 60%. The bottom 50% of the people have a mere 2% share of the total global wealth against the 76% global wealth share owned by the top 10% of the population. The wealth of the top 1% of people in the world is growing rapidly compared to the rest of the global population. The top 1% gained 38% of the global increase in wealth compared to only 2% wealth share obtained by the bottom 50% between 1995 and 2021. According to the IMF, income inequalities are not much better and the richest 10% take over 52% of all income, as of 2022. Whereas, the poorest half only obtain 8.5%. The top 35 poorest countries by GDP per capita in 2024 have an average GDP per capita of just over $900.
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However, countries with higher income equality have better job and business opportunities. Europe hosts the top countries with the highest average salaries in the world with Switzerland leading the list followed by Luxembourg and Denmark. The United States has the fourth highest average salary in the world with an average salary of $59,428. Luxembourg and Denmark have average salaries of around $75,316 and $71,268, respectively.
One of the Best Employers in the World
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the largest employers and highest-paying companies in the world. Amazon.com, Inc. employs over 1.5 million full-time and part-time employees. The company operates in various areas but is mainly known for its gigantic e-commerce network. Apart from e-commerce, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is well-known for its cloud services offered by AWS, and over-the-top media service Amazon Prime Video, among many. Amazon.com, Inc.’s e-commerce platform accounts for 37.6% of total market sales, the highest market share of all e-commerce companies in the US. By 2027, experts expect the e-commerce market to grow over $7.9 trillion from an expected market value of $6.3 trillion in 2024, as per Forbes.
Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) cloud service platform, AWS, remains a dominant player in the cloud market. AWS has a staggering 50.1% market share followed by a 28% share of Google Cloud Platform and a 20% share of Microsoft Azure. According to HG’s 2023 Infrastructure as a Service Market Report, almost 2.38 million businesses are buying AWS cloud computing services, while the AWS customer growth rate is also the highest among the global cloud providers at 31%, as of 2023. Around 53% of all AWS customers are from North America, representing a total of 1.27 million customers, almost twice as many in the region compared to 2023. AWS is enhancing its platform through generative AI and AI modeling in machine learning. In addition, AWS has 240 fully featured services for computing, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning, AI, IoT, mobile, security, hybrid, media, and application development, deployment, and management.
Over the years, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has performed exceptionally well based on strong financials, backed mainly by its e-commerce and cloud businesses. Apart from these businesses, Amazon is advancing in other sectors such as advertising. Amazon’s Advertising business increased from $38 billion in 2022 to $47 billion in 2023, up by 24% year-over-year. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) increased its total revenue by 12% year-over-year from $514 billion in 2022 to $575 billion in 2023.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) provides a wide range of job opportunities and pays market-competitive salaries in a time of distress when companies like Tesla and Microsoft are laying off. With that said, let’s take a look at the list of countries with the most income equality.
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Our Methodology
To determine the countries with the most income equality, we used the Gini coefficient of countries. The Gini coefficient describes income inequality or wealth distribution. A Gini coefficient of 0 represents perfect equality and a Gini coefficient of 100 means perfect inequality. The data on the Gini coefficient is taken from Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Databook 2022. The countries with the most income equality are those with the least Gini coefficient and are ranked in descending order of their Gini coefficients.
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30 Countries with the Most Income Equality
30. Turkmenistan
Gini Coefficient: 70.5%
Turkmenistan has a GDP per capita of $19,730, as of 2024. The country has a total population of around 6.5 million and an unemployment rate of just over 4%. With a Gini coefficient of 70.5%, Turkmenistan ranks 30th among the countries with the most income equality.
29. Burundi
Gini Coefficient: 70.3%
Burundi has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world with 0.9%, as of 2023. Although the country has a GDP per capita of just under $1,000, it is one of the countries with the most income equality.
28. France
Gini Coefficient: 70.2%
France is one of the major economies of the world with a GDP per capita of $60,340. France has an employment rate of 68.8% and an unemployment rate of just over 7%.
27. Croatia
Gini Coefficient: 70.2%
Croatia has a population of around 8.5 million and a GDP per capita of $45,700. With an unemployment rate of just over 6% and a Gini coefficient of 70.2%, Croatia ranks 27th among the countries with the most income equality in the world.
26. Bulgaria
Gini Coefficient: 70.2%
Bulgaria has an unemployment rate of 4.3%, as of 2023. The GDP per capita is around $35,960 and has a population of 6.4 million. Bulgaria has transitioned its system from a highly centralized, planned economy to an open, market-based, upper-middle-income economy.
25. China
Gini Coefficient: 70.1%
China is up against the US in the race to be the largest economy in the world. With vast job opportunities, China aims to create 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5%. China ranks 25th among the countries with the most income equality.
24. New Zealand
Gini Coefficient: 70%
New Zealand has an employment rate of 69%, as of 2023. New Zealand has a GDP per capita of around $53,800 and a total population of 5.2 million.
23. Romania
Gini Coefficient: 69.6%
Romania has a GDP per capita of $43,180 and ranks among the countries with the most income equality. Romania has an employment rate of 63% and an unemployment rate of 5.6%.
22. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Gini Coefficient: 69.2%
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a total population of 3.2 million and a GDP per capita of $20,620. Bosnia and Herzegovina has an unemployment rate of around 10.4%, a comparatively higher unemployment rate compared to other countries with the most income equality.
21. Spain
Gini Coefficient: 69.1%
Spain is one of the largest economies in Europe and has a GDP per capita of $52,010. Spain has a population of 48.4 million and an employment rate of around 52.26%.
20. Moldova
Gini Coefficient: 69.1%
Moldova has a Gini coefficient of 69.1% and ranks among the countries with the most income equality. Moldova has an unemployment rate of mere 1.6%.
19. Afghanistan
Gini Coefficient: 68.9%
Afghanistan is improving its economy post-war with China investing heavily in the country. With a Gini coefficient of 68.9%, Afghanistan ranks 19th among the countries with the most income equality.
18. Albania
Gini Coefficient: 68.6%
Albania has a GDP per capita of $20,630 and a total population of around 2.7 million. Albania has an employment rate of 57.1% and a Gini coefficient of 68.6%.
17. South Korea
Gini Coefficient: 68.2%
South Korea has a GDP per capita of around $59,330 and is one of the richest countries in the world. South Korea has an employment rate of 63.5% and ranks 17th among the countries with the most income equality in the world.
16. Greece
Gini Coefficient: 68.2%
Greece has a total population of around 10.3 million and a GDP per capita of $41,190. Greece has one of the highest employment rates in the world, around 89.1%, as of 2024.
15. Montenegro
Gini Coefficient: 68.1%
Montenegro has a total population of around 616,180 and a GDP per capita of around $29,700. With a Gini coefficient of 68.1%, Montenegro ranks 15th among the countries with the most income equality in the world.
14. Myanmar
Gini Coefficient: 68%
Myanmar has an unemployment rate of under 3% and a GDP per capita of around $5,200. From 2011 to 2019, Myanmar experienced high economic growth, averaging 6% per year, coupled with a significant reduction in poverty.
13. Hungary
Gini Coefficient: 68%
Hungary has a GDP per capita of $45,690 and a total population of around 9.5 million. Hungary has an employment rate of 65.1% and an unemployment rate of around 4.1%.
12. Italy
Gini Coefficient: 67.2%
Italy is one of the richest countries in Europe with a GDP per capita of around $56,910. Italy has an employment rate of 62.2% and ranks 12th among the countries with the most income equality.
11. Belarus
Gini Coefficient: 67.2%
Belarus has a total population of around 9.1 million and a GDP per capita of around $25,690. Belarus has one of the lowest unemployment rates, around 3.6%.
10. Luxembourg
Gini Coefficient: 66.3%
Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of $143,740. Luxembourg has an employment rate of 69.8% and a Gini coefficient of 66.3%. Luxembourg ranks 10th among the countries with the most income equality.
9. Australia
Gini Coefficient: 66.2%
Australia has an employment rate of 64.2% with a total population of around 26.6 million. Australia has a GDP per capita of $66,630, as of 2024.
8. Slovenia
Gini Coefficient: 65.2%
Slovenia has a population of around 2.1 million and a GDP per capita of $53,290. Slovenia has one of the highest employment rates in the world, around 73.8%.
7. Japan
Gini Coefficient: 64.7%
Japan is one of the richest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of $54,180. With an employment rate of 61.5% and a Gini coefficient of 64.7%, Japan ranks seventh among the countries with the most income equality.
6. Iceland
Gini Coefficient: 64.6%
Iceland has one of the lowest unemployment rates and a high employment rate of around 80%. Iceland has a GDP per capita of $73,780 and a total population of 393,600.
5. Timor-Leste
Gini Coefficient: 62.7%
Timor-Leste has a population of 1.3 million and a GDP per capita of around $3,770. Timor-Leste is a low-income economy with better income distribution among the population compared to most countries. With a Gini coefficient of 62.7%, Timor-Leste ranks fifth among the countries with the most income equality.