According to data published by the Pew Research Center, India is estimated to have had a shrinking middle class as a result of the global recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that the number of people in India living on less than ** per day grew by ** million people in 2020.

Data and insights on Wealth Distribution in India - share of wealth, average wealth, HNIs, wealth inequality GINI, and comparison with global peers.

According to data published by the Pew Research Center, India is estimated to have had a shrinking middle class as a result of the global recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that the number of people in the middle income tier in India decreased from 99 million to 66 million following the COVID-19 global recession.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the median household income in Indian Village. It can be utilized to understand the trend in median household income and to analyze the income distribution in Indian Village by household type, size, and across various income brackets.

Content

The dataset will have the following datasets when applicable

Please note: The 2020 1-Year ACS estimates data was not reported by the Census Bureau due to the impact on survey collection and analysis caused by COVID-19. Consequently, median household income data for 2020 is unavailable for large cities (population 65,000 and above).

• Indian Village, IN Median Household Income Trends (2010-2021, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars)
• Median Household Income Variation by Family Size in Indian Village, IN: Comparative analysis across 7 household sizes
• Income Distribution by Quintile: Mean Household Income in Indian Village, IN
• Indian Village, IN households by income brackets: family, non-family, and total, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Interested in deeper insights and visual analysis?

Explore our comprehensive data analysis and visual representations for a deeper understanding of Indian Village median household income. You can refer the same here

In the financial year 2021, a majority of Indian households fell under the aspirers category, earning between ******* and ******* Indian rupees a year. On the other hand, about ***** percent of households that same year, accounted for the rich, earning over * million rupees annually. The middle class more than doubled that year compared to ** percent in financial year 2005. Middle-class income group and the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic specifically during the lockdown in March 2020, loss of incomes hit the entire household income spectrum. However, research showed the severest affected groups were the upper middle- and middle-class income brackets. In addition, unemployment rates were rampant nationwide that further lead to a dismally low GDP. Despite job recoveries over the last few months, improvement in incomes were insignificant. Economic inequality While India maybe one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is also one of the most vulnerable and severely afflicted economies in terms of economic inequality. The vast discrepancy between the rich and poor has been prominent since the last ***** decades. The rich continue to grow richer at a faster pace while the impoverished struggle more than ever before to earn a minimum wage. The widening gaps in the economic structure affect women and children the most. This is a call for reinforcement in in the country’s social structure that emphasizes access to quality education and universal healthcare services.

India’s per capita net national income or NNI was around *** thousand rupees in financial year 2025. The annual growth rate was *** percent as compared to the previous year. National income indicators   While GNI (Gross National Income) and NNI are both indicators for a country’s economic performance and welfare, the GNI is related to the GDP plus the net receipts from abroad, including wages and salaries, property income, net taxes and subsidies receivable from abroad. On the other hand, the NNI of a country is equal to its GNI net of depreciation. In 2020, India ranked second amongst the Asia Pacific countries in terms of its gross national income. This has been possible due to a favorable GDP growth in India. Measuring wealth versus welfare   National income per person or per capita is often used as an indicator of people's standard of living and welfare. However, critics object to this by citing that since it is a mean value, it does not reflect the real income distribution. In other words, a small wealthy class of people in the country can skew the per capita income substantially, even though the average population has no change in income. This is exemplified by the fact that in India, the top one percent of people, control over 40 percent of the country’s wealth.

India Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 9.800 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.000 % for 2020. India Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 6.200 % from Dec 1977 (Median) to 2021, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.300 % in 2019 and a record low of 5.100 % in 2004. India Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

As of 2021, India was estimated to reach a GDP (gross domestic product) per capita of just over **** thousand U.S. dollars, whereas the average national income per capita stood at approximately ***** thousand U.S. dollars. This reflected a significant increase compared to 2010 from the average GDP of *** thousand and average national income of around *** thousand U.S. dollars. In general, India's average GDP and national income have been increasing constantly since 2010, barring 2020, most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disposable Personal Income in India increased to 296383300 INR Million in 2023 from 273364818.90 INR Million in 2022. This dataset provides - India Total Disposable Personal Income - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Household income in India was drastically impacted due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown as of April 12, 2020. There was a significant decrease in the level of income with households reporting a fall in income from about nine percent in late February to a whopping 45.7 percent in mid April. Rise in income saw a contrasting trend indicating similar results; from 31 percent in late February to 10.6 percent on April 12, 2020.

The country went into lockdown on March 25, 2020, the largest in the world, restricting 1.3 billion people, extended until May 3, 2020. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Fact and Figures page.

75% of households from the Bangladeshi ethnic group were in the 2 lowest income quintiles (after housing costs were deducted) between April 2021 and March 2024.

According to the survey conducted on work life aspects of young Indians in 2020, over ** percent of millennials earning more than 100 thousand Indian rupees per month expected their income to rise by more than ** percent. Furthermore, only ten percent of respondents earning the same income expected their salary to increase by ** percent.

India IN: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 44.000 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 48.200 % for 2020. India IN: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 62.000 % from Dec 1977 (Median) to 2021, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 89.100 % in 1977 and a record low of 44.000 % in 2021. India IN: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $3.65 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.65 a day at 2017 international prices.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countriesOn average – and taking into account population size – income inequality increased by 11% in developing countries between 1990 and 2010.A significant majority of households in developing countries – more than 75% – are living today in societies where income is more unequally distributed than it was in the 1990s.Children in the poorest 20% of the population are still up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the richest quintiles.Social protection has been significantly extended globally, yet persons with disabilities are up to five times more likely than average to incur catastrophic health expenditures.Despite overall declines in maternal mortality in the majority of developing countries, women in rural areas are still up to three times more likely to die while giving birth than women living in urban centres.The Gini Coefficient of income inequality for India has risen from 33.4% in 2004 to 33.6% in 2011.This map layer is offered by Esri India, for ArcGIS Online subscribers, If you have any questions or comments, please let us know via content@esri.in.

In the financial year 2021, the number of super-rich households earning more than ** million Indian rupees went up to **** million from **** million in the financial year 2016. This was an annual growth of **** percent. The number is expected to grow to over **** million in the financial year 2031 and ** million households in the financial year 2047. This will be the fastest growth across all income categories. On the other hand, destitute classified Indian households with earnings of less than *** thousand annually decreased only marginally to ***** million in financial year 2021 from **** million in 2016. However, it is estimated that the number of destitute households will fall to just *** million by the financial year 2047.

In the post-Covid financial year of 2021, the poorest ** percent of households witnessed income levels shrink by ** percent from levels in financial year 2016. The pandemic resulted in the gap between the richest and the poorest ** percent from *** times in financial year 2016 to ** times in financial year 2021. In the financial year 2023, the gap narrowed down to ***** times.

The estimated per capita income across the state of Uttar Pradesh in India stood at around ** thousand Indian rupees in the financial year 2024. There was a consistent increase in the income per capita in the state since the financial year 2012 till 2020. However, it had one of the lowest income per capita per state in India.

In 2020, the overall social mobility score in India was forty three. The highest score was witnessed in the area of working conditions. On the other hand, the fair wage distribution indicator received the lowest score.

At the end of 2022, the Gini coefficient of wealth in India stood at ****. This was a slight increase from previous years. The trend since 2000 shows rising inequalities among the Indian population. What is Gini coefficient of wealth? The Gini coefficient is a measure of wealth inequality. The coefficient of the Gini index ranges from 0 to 1 with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. Wealth and income distribution and inequality can however vary greatly. In 2023, South Africa topped the list of the most unequal countries in the world in terms of income inequality. Why do economic inequalities persist in India? By the end of 2022, the richest citizens in the country owned more than ** percent of the country’s wealth. Asia’s two richest men Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are Indians. The number of high-net-worth individuals has continuously increased over the last decades. While millions of people escaped poverty in the country in the last few years, the wealth distribution between rich and poor remains skewed. Crony capitalism and the accumulation of wealth through inheritance are some of the factors behind this widening gap.

The estimated per capita income in the capital of India, Delhi, was around *** thousand Indian rupees in the financial year 2024. There was a consistent increase in the income per capita in the union territory of Delhi the financial year 2012 till 2020.