Between 2010 and 2023, Brazil's data on the degree of inequality in wealth distribution based on the Gini coefficient reached 52. That year, Brazil was deemed one of the most unequal country in Latin America. Prior to 2010, wealth distribution in Brazil had shown signs of improvement, with the Gini coefficient decreasing in the previous 3 reporting periods. The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income (or consumption) among individuals or households in a given country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, whereas 100 would be the highest possible degree of inequality.

Based on the degree of inequality in income distribution measured by the Gini coefficient, Colombia was the most unequal country in Latin America as of 2022. Colombia's Gini coefficient amounted to 54.8. The Dominican Republic recorded the lowest Gini coefficient at 37, even below Uruguay and Chile, which are some of the countries with the highest human development indexes in Latin America. The Gini coefficient explained The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income among individuals or households in a given country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, whereas 100 would be the highest possible degree of inequality. This measurement reflects the degree of wealth inequality at a certain moment in time, though it may fail to capture how average levels of income improve or worsen over time. What affects the Gini coefficient in Latin America? Latin America, as other developing regions in the world, generally records high rates of inequality, with a Gini coefficient ranging between 37 and 55 points according to the latest available data from the reporting period 2010-2023. According to the Human Development Report, wealth redistribution by means of tax transfers improves Latin America's Gini coefficient to a lesser degree than it does in advanced economies. Wider access to education and health services, on the other hand, have been proven to have a greater direct effect in improving Gini coefficient measurements in the region.

ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The World Health Organization recognizes suicide as a public health priority. Increased knowledge of suicide risk factors is needed in order to be able to adopt effective prevention strategies. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the association between the Gini coefficient (which is used to measure inequality) and suicide death rates over a 14-year period (2000-2013) in Brazil and in the United States (US). The hypothesis put forward was that reduction of income inequality is accompanied by reduction of suicide rates. DESIGN AND SETTING: Descriptive cross-sectional time-series study in Brazil and in the US. METHODS: Population, death and suicide death data were extracted from the DATASUS database in Brazil and from the National Center for Health Statistics in the US. Gini coefficient data were obtained from the World Development Indicators. Time series analysis was performed on Brazilian and American official data regarding the number of deaths caused by suicide between 2000 and 2013 and the Gini coefficients of the two countries. The suicide trends were examined and compared. RESULTS: Brazil and the US present converging Gini coefficients, mainly due to reduction of inequality in Brazil over the last decade. However, suicide rates are not converging as hypothesized, but are in fact rising in both countries. CONCLUSION: The hypothesis that reduction of income inequality is accompanied by reduction of suicide rates was not verified.

In 2024, the national gross income per capita in Brazil amounted to around 9,950 U.S. dollars, an increase from 9,310 dollars per person in the previous year. Gross national income (GNI) is the aggregated sum of the value added by residents in an economy, plus net taxes (minus subsidies) and net receipts of primary income from abroad. Excluding countries and territories in the Caribbean, Uruguay and Chile were the Latin American countries with the highest national income per capita. Demographic elements and income There are many factors that may influence the income level, such as gender, academic attainment, location, ethnicity, etc. The gender pay gap, for example, is significant in Brazil. As of 2024, the monthly income per capita of men was 3,549 Brazilian reals, while the figure was 2,793 reals in the case of women. Additionally, monthly per capita household income varies greatly from state to state; the figures registered in Distrito Federal and São Paulo more than double the income of federative units like Acre, Alagoas or Maranhão. A high degree of inequality The Gini coefficient measures the degree of income inequality on a scale from 0 (total equality of incomes) to 100 (total inequality). Between 2010 and 2023, Brazil's degree of inequality in wealth distribution based on the Gini coefficient reached 52. That year, Brazil was deemed one of the most unequal countries in Latin America. Although the latest result represented one of the worst values in recent years, the Gini index is projected to improve slightly in the near future.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE Summarize the literature on the relationship between composite socioeconomic indicators and mortality in different geographical areas of Brazil. METHODS This scoping review included articles published between January 1, 2000, and August 31, 2020, retrieved by means of a bibliographic search carried out in the Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Lilacs databases. Studies reporting on the association between composite socioeconomic indicators and all-cause, or specific cause of death in any age group in different geographical areas were selected. The review summarized the measures constructed, their associations with the outcomes, and potential study limitations. RESULTS Of the 77 full texts that met the inclusion criteria, the study reviewed 24. The area level of composite socioeconomic indicators analyzed comprised municipalities (n = 6), districts (n = 5), census tracts (n = 4), state (n = 2), country (n = 2), and other areas (n = 5). Six studies used composite socioeconomic indicators such as the Human Development Index, Gross Domestic Product, and the Gini Index; the remaining 18 papers created their own socioeconomic measures based on sociodemographic and health indicators. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with higher rates of all-cause mortality, external cause mortality, suicide, homicide, fetal and infant mortality, respiratory and circulatory diseases, stroke, infectious and parasitic diseases, malnutrition, gastroenteritis, and oropharyngeal cancer. Higher mortality rates due to colorectal cancer, leukemia, a general group of neoplasms, traffic accident, and suicide, in turn, were observed in less deprived areas and/or those with more significant socioeconomic development. Underreporting of death and differences in mortality coverage in Brazilian areas were cited as the main limitation. CONCLUSIONS Studies analyzed mortality inequalities in different geographical areas by means of composite socioeconomic indicators, showing that the association directions vary according to the mortality outcome. But studies on all-cause mortality and at the census tract level remain scarce. The results may guide the development of new composite socioeconomic indicators for use in mortality inequality analysis.

In 2024, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China amounted to around 18.7 trillion U.S. dollars. In comparison to the GDP of the other BRIC countries India, Russia and Brazil, China came first that year and second in the world GDP ranking. The stagnation of China's GDP in U.S. dollar terms in 2022 and 2023 was mainly due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. China's real GDP growth was 5.4 percent in 2023 and 5.0 percent in 2024. In 2024, per capita GDP in China reached around 13,300 U.S. dollars. Economic performance in China Gross domestic product (GDP) is a primary economic indicator. It measures the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy over a certain time period. China's economy used to grow quickly in the past, but the growth rate of China’s real GDP gradually slowed down in recent years, and year-on-year GDP growth is forecasted to range at only around four percent in the years after 2024. Since 2010, China has been the world’s second-largest economy, surpassing Japan.China’s emergence in the world’s economy has a lot to do with its status as the ‘world’s factory’. Since 2013, China is the largest export country in the world. Some argue that it is partly due to the undervalued Chinese currency. The Big Mac Index, a simplified and informal way to measure the purchasing power parity between different currencies, indicates that the Chinese currency yuan was roughly undervalued by 38 percent in 2024. GDP development Although the impressive economic development in China has led millions of people out of poverty, China is still not in the league of industrialized countries on the per capita basis. To name one example, the U.S. per capita economic output was more than six times as large as in China in 2024. Meanwhile, the Chinese society faces increased income disparities. The Gini coefficient of China, a widely used indicator of economic inequality, has been larger than 0.45 over the last decade, whereas 0.40 is the warning level for social unrest.