Comparing the 130 selected regions regarding the gini index , South Africa is leading the ranking (0.63 points) and is followed by Namibia with 0.58 points. At the other end of the spectrum is Slovakia with 0.23 points, indicating a difference of 0.4 points to South Africa. The Gini coefficient here measures the degree of income inequality on a scale from 0 (=total equality of incomes) to one (=total inequality).The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

South Africa had the highest inequality in income distribution in 2024, with a Gini score of **. Its South African neighbor, Namibia, followed in second. The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of income (or consumption) distribution among individuals or households within a country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, and a value of 100 represents absolute inequality. All the 20 most unequal countries in the world were either located in Africa or Latin America & The Caribbean.

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.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost two-thirds percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.5 percent of the total wealth. Income inequality in the U.S. Despite the idea that the United States is a country where hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will inevitably lead to success, this is often not the case. In 2023, 7.4 percent of U.S. households had an annual income under 15,000 U.S. dollars. With such a small percentage of people in the United States owning such a vast majority of the country’s wealth, the gap between the rich and poor in America remains stark. The top one percent The United States follows closely behind China as the country with the most billionaires in the world. Elon Musk alone held around 219 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Over the past 50 years, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio has exploded, causing the gap between rich and poor to grow, with some economists theorizing that this gap is the largest it has been since right before the Great Depression.

Czech Republic CZ: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data was reported at 26.200 % in 2021. This stayed constant from the previous number of 26.200 % for 2020. Czech Republic CZ: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data is updated yearly, averaging 26.200 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2021, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.500 % in 2004 and a record low of 20.700 % in 1992. Czech Republic CZ: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Czech Republic – Table CZ.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.;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).

The global gender gap index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education, and health-based criteria. In 2024, the country offering most gender equal conditions was Iceland with a score of 0.94. Overall, the Nordic countries make up four of the five most gender equal countries in the world. The Nordic countries are known for their high levels of gender equality, including high female employment rates and evenly divided parental leave. Sudan is the least gender equal country Sudan is found on the other end of the scale, ranked as the least gender equal country in the world. Conditions for civilians in the North African country has worsened significantly after a civil war broke out in April 2023. Especially girls and women are suffering and have become victims of sexual violence. Moreover, nearly nine million people are estimated to be at acute risk of famine. The Middle East and North Africa has the largest gender gap Looking at the different world regions, the Middle East and North Africa has the largest gender gap as of 2023, just ahead of South Asia. Moreover, it is estimated that it will take another 152 years before the gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa is closed. On the other hand, Europe has the lowest gender gap in the world.

This statistic shows the inequality of income distribution in China from 2005 to 2023 based on the Gini Index. In 2023, China reached a score of ************ points. The Gini Index is a statistical measure that is used to represent unequal distributions, e.g. income distribution. It can take any value between 1 and 100 points (or 0 and 1). The closer the value is to 100 the greater is the inequality. 40 or 0.4 is the warning level set by the United Nations. The Gini Index for South Korea had ranged at about **** in 2022. Income distribution in China The Gini coefficient is used to measure the income inequality of a country. The United States, the World Bank, the US Central Intelligence Agency, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development all provide their own measurement of the Gini coefficient, varying in data collection and survey methods. According to the United Nations Development Programme, countries with the largest income inequality based on the Gini index are mainly located in Africa and Latin America, with South Africa displaying the world's highest value in 2022. The world's most equal countries, on the contrary, are situated mostly in Europe. The United States' Gini for household income has increased by around ten percent since 1990, to **** in 2023. Development of inequality in China Growing inequality counts as one of the biggest social, economic, and political challenges to many countries, especially emerging markets. Over the last 20 years, China has become one of the world's largest economies. As parts of the society have become more and more affluent, the country's Gini coefficient has also grown sharply over the last decades. As shown by the graph at hand, China's Gini coefficient ranged at a level higher than the warning line for increasing risk of social unrest over the last decade. However, the situation has slightly improved since 2008, when the Gini coefficient had reached the highest value of recent times.

Inflation was the most worrying topic worldwide as of January 2025, with one third of the respondents choosing that option. Crime and violence as well as poverty and social inequality followed behind. Moreover, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza, nine percent of the respondents were worried about military conflict between nations. Only four percent were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated the world after its outbreak in 2020. Global inflation and rising prices Inflation rates have spiked substantially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. From 2020 to 2021, the worldwide inflation rate increased from 3.5 percent to 4.7 percent, and from 2021 to 2022, the rate increased sharply from 4.7 percent to 8.7 percent. While rates are predicted to fall come 2025, many are continuing to struggle with price increases on basic necessities. Poverty and global development Poverty and social inequality was the third most worrying issue to respondents. While poverty and inequality are still prominent, global poverty rates have been on a steady decline over the years. In 1994, 64 percent of people in low-income countries and around one percent of people in high-income countries lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. By 2018, this had fallen to almost 44 percent of people in low-income countries and 0.6 percent in high-income countries. Moreover, fewer people globally are dying of preventable diseases and people are living longer lives. Despite these aspects, issues such as wealth inequality have global prominence.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01134) from Q3 1989 to Q4 2024 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

Of the countries included, South Africa had the highest income inequality, with a Gini coefficient of 0.62. It was also the country with the highest inequality level worldwide. Of the OECD members, Costa Rica had the highest income inequality, whereas Slovakia had the lowest.

Exclusionary attitudes towards out-groups are often justified by historical narratives of conflict. A large body of literature explores how making in-group victimhood narratives salient can affect attitudes towards out-groups. Much less, however, has been done to study how in-group perpetrator narratives may reduce or exacerbate animosity towards a (historically victimized) out-group. This dataset helps to fill this gap by studying islamophobia in Spain. It can be paired with a mirrored dataset focused on antisemitism submitted by the same research team. It measures islamophobia and various intergroup attitudes, while also including a survey experiment that randomly assigns respondents into one of three treatment arms related to historical perpetrator-hood and out-group victimization.

Understanding how global rises in economic inequality are affecting governance regimes across the world is a critical question to the social sciences today. Historically, sharp increases in inequality have generated drastic changes in political and social order (Gurr 1970, Skocpol 1979, 1994). However, existing knowledge about the causal effects of inequality on governance is surprisingly limited. At the macro-level, studies show in general a negative association between economic inequality and the quality of governance institutions (Acemoglu and Robinson 2006, Rothstein 2011), but have not reached a consensus about the causal mechanisms that may explain this relationship. At the micro-level, the evidence so far reveals mixed effects of inequality on a number of factors that shape governance institutions, including voting behaviour, attitudes towards democracy and the rule of law, civic participation, collective mobilisation and political violence (Alesina and La Ferrara 2005, Bardhan 2005, Solt 2008). These mixed effects are not surprising because the ways in which citizens participate in the political arena and mobilise collectively to drive change are moulded by inequality itself. One case in point - which we currently observe in many parts of the world - is when rises in inequality allow the capture of political decision-making processes by those that benefit from them, eroding social relations between groups and trust in institutions (Piketty 2013, Stiglitz 2013). However, despite the enormous consequences of these complex relationships for global stability and democratic values, there is to date limited knowledge about the factors that may mediate the relationship between rising inequalities and governance outcomes. When this evidence exists, it is restricted to a handful of countries. The main aim of this project is to explore how one key factor -trust- mediates the relationship between inequality and governance in settings where democratic institutions may be unstable or under threat.

The project is organised around three thematic areas: (i) how trust within and between social groups and towards governance institutions emerges and evolves in contexts of rising inequality; (ii) how trust in unequal societies shapes governance outcomes through two intervening factors - political behaviour and social mobilisation; and (iii) the pathways through which changes in such intervening factors may sometimes result in inclusive governance outcomes, but in the breakdown of governance at other times. Each of these areas will incorporate detailed theoretical and empirical analyses at the subnational level in four countries -Colombia, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Spain- affected by rising inequalities and characterised by unstable or strained democratic institutions.

The absence of systematic qualitative, quantitative and behavioural data has hindered progress in understanding the links between inequality, trust and governance in countries outside North America and Western Europe. The project seeks to compile a number of unexplored data sources and collect new data comparatively across these other countries in order to fulfil this critical gap. This data collection will involve: (i) comparative individual-level surveys to understand contemporaneous levels of trust, and attitudes towards formal and non-formal local governing institutions, (ii) behavioural experiments under different inequality and political contexts to better understand the formation of trust under different scenarios, (iii) indepth interviews with key political actors in government, members of social movements and citizen organisations to understand how inequalities affect perceptions of governance and strategies of political mobilisation, and (iv)detailed compilation of archival data that will allow us to better understand how inequalities and attitudes have evolved across time and how different historical junctures may shape the governance outcomes we observe today.

In April 2024, over ** percent of the population in Indonesia and Hungary expressed concern about poverty and social inequality. Worldwide, only inflation was seen as a more worrying topic.

As of March 2025, South Africa had the highest unemployment rate among the 19* countries that are members of the G20. The unemployment rate in South Africa stood at 33.9 percent that year. The country has recently been plagued by an economic downturn, including energy shortages and high unemployment levels. On the other hand, Japan had the lowest unemployment rate at just 2.5 percent. Economic inequality in South Africa Not only does South Africa top the G20 in overall unemployment, but it also has a significant level of youth unemployment, as nearly half of the young population is unemployed. Thirty years after the end of Apartheid, South Africa is also still one of the most unequal countries in the world, with a Gini score of 0.63. The prominence of inequality in the country makes escaping unemployment and underemployment difficult. Japanese economic slowdown While Japan had the lowest unemployment rate out of all G20 nations, as well as the lowest youth unemployment rate out of the G20 nations, Japan’s economy is still facing many challenges. With an aging population, the total Japanese population is facing a rapid decline, meaning that it will struggle to have enough workers participating in the labor market. Despite this, Japan maintains strict immigration policies, limiting the chances for foreign workers to move to Japan. Moreover, Japan has the second lowest fertility rate out of the G7 nations and one of the lowest fertility rates globally, adding another challenge in addressing population shrinkage.

According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025, the United States housed the highest number of billionaires worldwide in 2025. In detail, there were *** billionaires living in the United States as of January that year. By comparison, *** billionaires resided in China. India, the United Kingdom, and Germany were also the homes of a significant number of billionaires that year. United States has regained its first place As the founder and exporter of consumer capitalism, it is no surprise that the United States is home to a large number of billionaires. Although China had briefly overtaken the U.S. in recent years, the United States has reclaimed its position as the country with the most billionaires in the world. Moreover, North America leads the way in terms of the highest number of ultra high net worth individuals – those with a net worth of more than ***** million U.S. dollars. The prominence of Europe and North America is a reflection of the higher degree of economic development in those states. However, this may also change as China and other emerging economies continue developing. Female billionaires Moreover, the small proportion of female billionaires does little to counter critics claiming the global economy is dominated by an elite comprised mainly of men. On the list of the 20 richest people in the world, only one was a woman. Moreover, recent political discourse has put a great amount of attention on the wealth held by the super-rich with the wealth distribution of the global population being heavily unequal.

The youth unemployment rate of South Africa was over 50 percent in 2023, the highest of any G20 country. Italy followed with a youth unemployment rate of 23 percent. In contrast, Japan's youth unemployment rate was the lowest at only 4.2 percent. Economic crisis in Argentina At 18 percent, youth unemployment in Argentina falls third out of the G20 nations. The Argentinian economy was hit by a recession beginning in 2022, with an average inflation rate of nearly 72 percent that year, jumping to over 130 percent in 2023. Such staggering inflation has hit Argentinian consumers hard, with the average consumer price index going from nearly 918 in 2021 to 1,584 in 2022, before increasing to nearly 3,700 in 2023. While youth unemployment has fallen in Argentina since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, factors such as skyrocketing inflation make getting by difficult for many. Inequality in South Africa With a youth unemployment rate of just over 50 percent, South Africa stands out from the rest of the G20 nations. Thirty years after the end of Apartheid, South Africa is considered the most unequal country in the world. Using the Gini Index, which measures income inequality with zero representing totally equal distribution and one representing unequal distribution, South Africa has a score of 0.63, higher than any other nation. Poverty and inequality are a major concern for South Africans, with over 30 percent of survey respondents expressing worry over the issue in January 2024, a slight decrease from a recent peak of 38 percent in August 2023.

The Gender Equality Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education, and health-based criteria among the countries of the European Union. A score of 0 indicates that there is no gender equality, while 100 points indicate that gender equality is achieved. In the 2024 index, the leading country was Sweden with 82 points. Denmark and the Netherlands were the second and third most gender equal countries. Considering the other side of the spectrum, Romania only scored 56.1 points, way below the EU average of 70.2. Other countries at the bottom of the ranking were Hungary and Romania. Equality in health Not only does the index measure gender equality on national levels, it also breaks down gender equality into different dimensions. With an index score of 88 points, health was the most equal dimension among men and women within the EU, followed by money and work. To the contrary, power was considered the most unequal dimension, along with knowledge and time management. The Global Gender Gap Index From a global perspective, Iceland is considered the most gender equal country. Dominating this list are the Nordic countries: Norway, Finland, New Zealand, and Sweden rank in the top 5. As of 2024, it was estimated that Europe had closed 75 percent of its gender gap, making it the most successful region in the world, before North and Latin America. Nevertheless, experts predict that gender parity will not be achieved in the region for another 67 years.

In 2022, about 40 percent of adults in Mexico held a net worth under 10,000 U.S. dollars. In contrast, merely 393,000 Mexicans (that is, 0.4 percent of the total) had a net worth of over one million U.S. dollars. Mexico is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America regarding wealth distribution, with 78.7 percent of the national wealth held by the richest ten percent of the population.

The minimum salaryThe minimum wage per day guaranteed by law in Mexico was decreed to increase by 22 percent between 2021 and 2022, reaching 172.87 Mexican pesos in 2022. In the Free Zone located near the northern border the minimum daily wage was raised to 260.34 Mexican pesos.This represented the fourth consecutive incrase since 2019, but could prove to be insufficient to maintain the wellbeing of Mexican workers after the soaring inflation rate registered in 2022 and the economic impact of the COVID-19 in Mexican households. The legal minimum salary has a long history in the North American country, it was first implemented with the approval of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States in 1917. Income inequality in Latin AmericaLatin America, as other developing regions in the world, generally records high rates of inequality, with a Gini coefficient ranging between 38 and 54 among the region’s countries. Moreover, many of the countries with the biggest inequality in income distribution worldwide are found in Latin America. According to the Human Development Report 2019, 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.

The difference between the earnings of women and men shrank slightly over the past years. Considering the controlled gender pay gap, which measures the median salary for men and women with the same job and qualifications, women earned one U.S. cent less. By comparison, the uncontrolled gender pay gap measures the median salary for all men and all women across all sectors and industries and regardless of location and qualification. In 2025, the uncontrolled gender pay gap in the world stood at 0.83, meaning that women earned 0.83 dollars for every dollar earned by men.

As of 2024, an individual living in South Africa with less than 1,109 South African rand (roughly 62.14 U.S. dollars) per month was considered poor. Furthermore, individuals having 796 South African rand (approximately 44.60 U.S. dollars) a month available for food were living below the poverty line according to South African national standards. Absolute poverty National poverty lines are affected by changes in the patterns of household consumers and fluctuations in prices of services and goods. They are calculated based on the consumer price indices (CPI) of both food and non-food items separately. The national poverty line is not the only applicable threshold. For instance,13.2 million people in South Africa were living under 2.15 U.S. dollars, which is the international absolute poverty threshold defined by the World Bank. Most unequal in the globe A prominent aspect of South Africa’s poverty is related to extreme income inequality. The country has the highest income Gini index globally at 63 percent as of 2023. One of the crucial obstacles to combating poverty and inequality in the country is linked to job availability. In fact, youth unemployment was as high as 49.14 percent in 2023.

As of January 2024, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest people in South Africa with a net worth of 11.1 billion U.S. dollars. The Rupert family are ranked at 216 globally and are the second richest people in Africa after Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, reclaimed the title. Rupert's net worth dropped by seven million U.S. dollars from 2023, mainly due to a decline in the market value of luxury goods company Richemont, where he owns an estimated 9.14 percent stake. Nicky Oppenheimer and his family placed as the second richest in South Africa, with a net worth of 9.5 billion U.S. dollars and ranking at 276 worldwide. Their net worth source was mostly founded via the diamond market. They were followed by Koos Bekker, the chairman of media group Naspers, with 3.1 billion U.S. dollars who placed 1,133 globally. Patrice Motsepe, the first black African on the Forbes list and founder of African Rainbow Minerals, ranked 1,140 out of the global billionaires list, with a net worth of three billion U.S. dollars. Where does the wealth reside in the continent? The three largest economies on the continent in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), namely Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa saw the highest concentration of private wealth, with South Africa ranking first when it came to private wealth. In fact, out of Africa’s 20 wealthiest families and individuals, 14 of them were from these economies. Since 2010, the number of high net worth individuals on the continent fluctuated peaking at 148 individuals in 2017 and reaching its lowest in 2020 at 125. High net worth individuals are people whose net assets exceed one million U.S. dollars. On the other hand, South Africa suffered from severe income inequality ranking as the most unequal country in the world with a Gini index of 0.63 points.