In India, the share of the population that earned at least the equivalent of the highest 40 percent of global income earners as of 2022 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms was 41 percent. Hyderabad topped the list with the highest share of middle-class and above category of consumers. Cities from south India topped the list with the first four ranks, followed by the national capital, Delhi.

In the financial year 2021, a majority of Indian households fell under the aspirers category, earning between 125,000 and 500,000 Indian rupees a year. On the other hand, about three percent of households that same year, accounted for the rich, earning over 3 million rupees annually. The middle class more than doubled that year compared to 14 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 three 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.

Between the financial year 2016 and 2021, the number of super-rich households in India earning more than 20 million Indian rupees recorded an annual growth of 11.3 percent. The growth is expected to continue in the next decade at 17.5 percent. This will be the fastest growth across all income categories. The share of destitute households is expected to decline by almost 8 percent between financial 2021 and 2031.

In the financial year 2021, the number of super-rich households earning more than 20 million Indian rupees went up to 1.81 million from 1.06 million in the financial year 2016. This was an annual growth of 11.3 percent. The number is expected to grow to over nine million in the financial year 2031 and 32 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 125 thousand annually decreased only marginally to 45.17 million in financial year 2021 from 46.5 million in 2016. However, it is estimated that the number of destitute households will fall to just 7.2 million by the financial year 2047.

The share of middle class' consumption of gold and jewelry across the country was estimated to be around 17 percent in 2030, up from around nine percent in 2020. As the middle class population increases, the income of the population increases which leads to increase in the consumption of gold, mainly because Indians consider gold as an important investment.

In the financial year 2021, the average annual expenditure of rich households in India was over 2 million Indian rupees, a stark contrast to destitute category which spent 83 thousand Indian rupees. A rich household spent almost 25 times that of a destiture household, eight times that of an aspirer household, and almost three times that of a middle-class household.

In the financial year 2021, the average annual saving of rich households in India was over 606 thousand Indian rupees, a stark contrast to destitute category which saved only five thousand Indian rupees. The middle-class saved almost 130 thousand Indian rupees annually. During the year, a rich household spent almost 25 times that of a destitute household, eight times that of an aspirer household, and almost three times that of a middle-class household.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This resource arose out of research into the date of origin, characteristics, and scale of age-specific salaries, and the relative earnings among the British middle class between 1750 and 1850.
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This resource lists by name, occupation, year, department, and years of experience of clerks employed in the British East India Company between 1760 and 1850. It provides an indication of middle class incomes received by a significant group of men in the middle and upper sections of London's middle class during the classic years of the British industrial revolution.

In the 3 years to March 2021, black households were most likely out of all ethnic groups to have a weekly income of under £600.

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.

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 $2 per day grew by 75 million people in 2020.

In 2022, the majority of Indian adults had a wealth of 10,000 U.S. dollars or less. On the other hand, about 0.1 percent were worth more than one million dollars that year. India The Republic of India is one of the world’s largest and most economically powerful states. India gained independence from Great Britain on August 15, 1947, after having been under their power for 200 years. With a population of about 1.4 billion people, it was the second most populous country in the world. Of that 1.4 billion, about 28.5 million lived in New Delhi, the capital. Wealth inequality India suffers from extreme income inequality. It is estimated that the top 10 percent of the population holds 77 percent of the national wealth. Billionaire fortune has increase sporadically in the last years whereas minimum wages have remain stunted.

Abstract

The Global Consumption Database (GCD) contains information on consumption patterns at the national level, by urban/rural area, and by income level (4 categories: lowest, low, middle, higher with thresholds based on a global income distribution), for 92 low and middle-income countries, as of 2010. The data were extracted from national household surveys. The consumption is presented by category of products and services of the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2005, which mostly corresponds to COICOP. For three countries, sub-national data are also available (Brazil, India, and South Africa). Data on population estimates are also included.

       The data file can be used for the production of the following tables (by urban/rural and income class/consumption segment):
       - Sample Size by Country, Area and Consumption Segment (Number of Households)
       - Population 2010 by Country, Area and Consumption Segment
       - Population 2010 by Country, Area and Consumption Segment, as a Percentage of the National Population
       - Population 2010 by Country, Area and Consumption Segment, as a Percentage of the Area Population
       - Population 2010 by Country, Age Group, Sex and Consumption Segment
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment in Local Currency (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment in $PPP (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment in US$ (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Category of Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in Local Currency (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Category of Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in $PPP (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Category of Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in US$ (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in Local Currency (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in $PPP (Million)
       - Household Consumption 2010 by Country, Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in US$ (Million)
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment in Local Currency
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment in US$
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment in $PPP
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Category of Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in Local Currency
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Category of Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in US$
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Category of Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment in $PPP
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Product or Service, Area and Consumption Segment in Local Currency
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Product or Service, Area and Consumption Segment in US$
       - Per Capita Consumption 2010 by Country, Product or Service, Area and Consumption Segment in $PPP
       - Consumption Shares 2010 by Country, Sector, Area and Consumption Segment (Percent)
       - Consumption Shares 2010 by Country, Category of Products/Services, Area and Consumption Segment (Percent)
       - Consumption Shares 2010 by Country, Product/Service, Area and Consumption Segment (Percent)
       - Percentage of Households who Reported Having Consumed the Product or Service by Country, Consumption Segment and Area (as of Survey Year)

Geographic coverage notes

For all countries, estimates are provided at the national level and at the urban/rural levels. For Brazil, India, and South Africa, data are also provided at the sub-national level (admin 1): - Brazil: ACR, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaji, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paolo, Sergipe, Tocatins - India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arinachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madya Pradesh, Maharastra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal - South Africa: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Kwazulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpulamanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape

Kind of data

Data derived from survey microdata

This statistic displays the distribution of annual household income across the city of Delhi in India in 2015. During the measured time period, 14 percent of households from the National Capital Region had an annual income between 500,001 rupees and one million Indian rupees.

Between the financial year 2016 and 2021, the high income class rural households grew faster than urban super rich households. There was a growth of over 14 percent in rural super rich households. On the other hand, destitute classified urban households grew by 7.3 percent.

Over a billion Indians were classified under low income in 2019, from only 873 million in 2011. The change meant that between 2011 and 2019, about 262 million Indians saw an increase in their standard of living, from poor to low income.

Based on the results of a survey about WhatsApp users across India in 2018, about 14 percent of respondents who belonged to the poor economic class were active users of the messaging app. While this was about 45 percent for upper middle class and rich respondents during the survey period.

By 2030, the middle-class population in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase from 1.38 billion people in 2015 to 3.49 billion people. In comparison, the middle-class population of sub-Saharan Africa is expected to increase from 114 million in 2015 to 212 million in 2030.

Worldwide wealth

While the middle-class has been on the rise, there is still a huge disparity in global wealth and income. The United States had the highest number of individuals belonging to the top one percent of wealth holders, and the value of global wealth is only expected to increase over the coming years. Around 57 percent of the world’s population had assets valued at less than 10,000 U.S. dollars; while less than one percent had assets of more than million U.S. dollars. Asia had the highest percentage of investable assets in the world in 2018, whereas Oceania had the highest percent of non-investable assets.

The middle-class

The middle class is the group of people whose income falls in the middle of the scale. China accounted for over half of the global population for middle-class wealth in 2017. In the United States, the debate about the middle class “disappearing” has been a popular topic due to the increase in wealth to the top billionaires in the nation. Due to this, there have been arguments to increase taxes on the rich to help support the middle-class.

According to a survey conducted in 2015 across India, over 60 percent of the surveyed households had an average monthly income up to 10,000 Indian rupees. This percentage varied among the rural and urban areas, where over 75 percent of the rural households and 45 percent of the urban households earned up to 10,000 Indian rupees monthly. India had a high rate of rural to urban migration, as Indian cities provided better standards of living and employment opportunities.

Multiple income generators

For most of the population, income is earned in form of wages or salary, rent from residential or commercial property, interest from financial investments, and profits from family businesses. Most Indian households have multiple earning members to support consumption expenses on a day to day basis. During the surveyed year, around 48 percent of the households had a single earner, mostly the head of the family, followed by about 30 percent of households with two earning members.

Employment scenario

There are a lot of uncertainties in the job market in India. Non-availability of jobs matching education and skills was one of the main reasons for unemployment among Indian graduates. Underemployment was also a problem, and it was higher in urban areas than rural ones. Even though a majority of the population was self-employed, most jobs taken by workers had no written job contracts in both the salaried and casual employment sectors.

As of April 2021, estimates for income groups showed a significant decline in the composition of the middle class across India as a result of the impact from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Pre-pandemic projections put this number at 99 million, which saw a drop of 30 million in a post-pandemic scenario. Furthermore, this reflected in a growing number within the poor income group.