Income share of the richest 10%

The share of national income going to the best-paid 10% of adults, before taxes and social benefits. 10% would mean perfect equality.

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World map: Income share of the richest 10%, 2019 — Map 2019. Source: World Inequality Database, via Gapminder (CC BY 4.0).

In 2019, 166 countries have a value. Highest: South Africa (65.1 %), Central African Republic (64.6 %), Mozambique (64.2 %). Lowest: Czechia (28 %), Iceland (28.4 %), Sweden (28.8 %). World (population-weighted average): 46.6 %. France: 32.1 % (154th of 166).

Country ranking in 2019

Rank	Country	Value
1	South Africa	65.1 %
2	Central African Republic	64.6 %
3	Mozambique	64.2 %
4	Namibia	64 %
5	Zambia	61.5 %
6	Chile	60.2 %
7	Guinea-Bissau	59.7 %
8	Eswatini	59.5 %
9	Botswana	58.9 %
10	Mexico	58 %
11	Angola	57.7 %
12	Brazil	57.3 %
13	Lebanon	57.1 %
14	India its history →	56.1 %
15	United Arab Emirates	55.8 %
16	Malawi	55.8 %
17	Congo - Brazzaville	55.6 %
18	Benin	54.7 %
19	Oman	54.3 %
20	Saudi Arabia	53.6 %
21	Rwanda	53.4 %
22	Türkiye	53.3 %
23	Kuwait	53.2 %
24	Thailand	53.1 %
25	Iraq	52.9 %
26	Qatar	52.6 %
27	Zimbabwe	52 %
28	Cameroon	51.7 %
29	Costa Rica	51.6 %
30	Peru	51.6 %
31	Uganda	51.5 %
32	Equatorial Guinea	51.3 %
33	Myanmar (Burma)	50.9 %
34	Tanzania	50.7 %
35	Madagascar	50.3 %
36	Palestine	50.3 %
37	Somalia	49.3 %
38	Djibouti	49.1 %
39	Sri Lanka	49.1 %
40	Lesotho	49.1 %
41	South Sudan	49.1 %
42	Colombia	48.9 %
43	Chad	48.9 %
44	Morocco	48.8 %
45	Ghana	48.6 %
46	Bahamas	48.5 %
47	Belize	48.5 %
48	Bolivia	48.5 %
49	Dominican Republic	48.5 %
50	Guatemala	48.5 %
51	Guyana	48.5 %
52	Honduras	48.5 %
53	Haiti	48.5 %
54	Jamaica	48.5 %
55	Nicaragua	48.5 %
56	Panama	48.5 %
57	Paraguay	48.5 %
58	Suriname	48.5 %
59	Trinidad & Tobago	48.5 %
60	Venezuela	48.5 %
61	Congo - Kinshasa	48.4 %
62	Turkmenistan	48.4 %
63	Yemen	48.4 %
64	Côte d’Ivoire	48.3 %
65	Kenya	48.2 %
66	Syria	48.1 %
67	Burundi	47.8 %
68	Togo	47.6 %
69	Egypt	47.3 %
70	Iran	47.3 %
71	Senegal	47.2 %
72	Jordan	47.1 %
73	Philippines	46.8 %
74	Burkina Faso	46.4 %
75	Israel	46.3 %
76	Sierra Leone	46.2 %
77	Russia	46 %
78	Laos	45.7 %
79	United States	45.4 %
80	Gambia	45.2 %
81	Singapore	45.2 %
82	Uzbekistan	45.2 %
83	Eritrea	44.9 %
84	Ethiopia	44.9 %
85	South Korea	44.9 %
86	Pakistan	44.7 %
87	Sudan	44.3 %
88	Cambodia	44.2 %
89	Libya	43.4 %
90	Japan	43.3 %
91	Gabon	42.8 %
92	Bulgaria	42.7 %
93	Vietnam	42.7 %
94	Liberia	42.6 %
95	Niger	42.6 %
96	Nigeria	42.1 %
97	North Korea	42.1 %
98	Afghanistan	42 %
99	Bhutan	42 %
100	Guinea	42 %
101	El Salvador	42 %
102	Bangladesh	41.8 %
103	Uruguay	41.6 %
104	China	41.4 %
105	Mongolia	41 %
106	Tajikistan	40.8 %
107	Indonesia	40.7 %
108	Tunisia	40.7 %
109	Mali	40.6 %
110	Nepal	40.4 %
111	Papua New Guinea	40.1 %
112	Mauritania	39.9 %
113	Argentina its history →	39.5 %
114	Cuba	39.5 %
115	Brunei	39.4 %
116	Canada	39.4 %
117	Malaysia	39.4 %
118	Timor-Leste	39.4 %
119	Romania	38.9 %
120	Kazakhstan	38.2 %
121	Lithuania	38.2 %
122	Kyrgyzstan	37.6 %
123	Ecuador	37.5 %
124	Portugal its history →	37.4 %
125	Germany its history →	37.3 %
126	Algeria	37.3 %
127	Poland	37.1 %
128	Greece	36.1 %
129	Montenegro	36.1 %
130	Taiwan	36 %
131	Serbia	35.3 %
132	United Kingdom	35.2 %
133	Cyprus	35.1 %
134	Estonia	34.8 %
135	Armenia	34.5 %
136	Azerbaijan	34.5 %
137	Belarus	34.5 %
138	Georgia	34.5 %
139	Ukraine its history →	34.5 %
140	Ireland	34.4 %
141	Latvia	34.4 %
142	Spain its history →	34.2 %
143	Hungary its history →	34.2 %
144	Albania	34 %
145	Malta	33.5 %
146	Moldova	33.4 %
147	New Zealand	33.3 %
148	Luxembourg	32.8 %
149	Finland	32.7 %
150	Australia its history →	32.5 %
151	Italy	32.3 %
152	Bosnia & Herzegovina	32.2 %
153	Croatia	32.2 %
154	France its history →	32.1 %
155	Austria	32 %
156	Switzerland its history →	31.9 %
157	Belgium	31.7 %
158	Denmark	31.7 %
159	Norway	30.9 %
160	North Macedonia	30.5 %
161	Netherlands its history →	29.5 %
162	Slovakia	29.5 %
163	Slovenia	29.4 %
164	Sweden its history →	28.8 %
165	Iceland	28.4 %
166	Czechia	28 %

12 countries or territories have no value that year.

Continent averages

World (population-weighted average)	46.6 %
Europe (average)	38.2 %
Africa (average)	48.3 %
Americas (average)	49.7 %
Asia (average)	47.1 %
Oceania (average)	34.4 %

Understanding this map

What this figure measures

The World Inequality Database (Piketty, Chancel, Saez, Zucman and others) combines surveys, tax returns and national accounts, which captures very high incomes and capital income (dividends, interest, rents) better than surveys alone. The figure is before taxes: it shows how the economy distributes income, before the state redistributes.

Since 1980

The share of the richest 10% has risen almost everywhere, but not at the same pace: in the United States, from 34% in 1980 to 45% in 2019; in France, from 28% to 32%; in Sweden it stays below 30%. The sharpest rises came with major transformations: India (from 32% to 56%), China (from 27% to 41%), and above all Russia after the end of the USSR (from 21% to 50% in ten years). South Africa (65%), Chile and Brazil (nearly 60%) are the most unequal.

Limits

For many poor countries without tax data or recent surveys, the database estimates these shares from neighbouring countries: these figures are approximations. The series stops in 2019 in this version. The world average is the countries' average weighted by population, and its rise mostly reflects China and India.

Sources : World Inequality Database, via Gapminder (CC BY 4.0)

In the same theme : Inequality

Gini index Share of the richest 10%Poverty

All maps

Electoral democracy index Women's right to vote Life expectancy at birth Children dying before age 5 Children per woman GDP per capita Economic freedom index Median income per person per month Income inequality (Gini index)Income share of the richest 10%Extreme poverty (under $2.15 a day)Tax revenue Public debt Public debt per person Public spending Military spending Public spending on education Public spending on health Public social spending Research and development spending Share of public debt held abroad Interest paid on public debt Share of taxes eaten up by interest on debt Public debt in years of taxes Total government revenue Top marginal income tax rate Budget balance: deficit or surplus Interest-growth gap (r − g)10-year government borrowing rate Household electricity prices Gender gap in hourly wages CO₂ emissions per person — on the territory Share of electricity from low-carbon (renewables + nuclear) sources Population and density Share of people aged 65 and over Immigrants as a share of the population Share of people with no religion Largest religion Countries accessible without a visa

Page updated on 2026-11-03.