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Country Comparison :: Distribution of family income - Gini index
This index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its Lorenz curve to the 45 degree line and the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25. The more unequal a country's income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub-Saharan country with an index of 50. If income were distributed with perfect equality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the 45 degree line and the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the horizontal axis and the right vertical axis and the index would be 100.
Download Data
Rank
 country Distribution of family income - Gini index Date of Information
1 Namibia
70.7
2003
2 Seychelles
65.8
2007
3 South Africa
65.0
2005
4 Lesotho
63.2
1995
5 Botswana
63.0
1993
6 Sierra Leone
62.9
1989
7 Central African Republic
61.3
1993
8 Haiti
59.2
2001
9 Colombia
58.5
2009
10 Bolivia
58.2
2009
11 Honduras
57.7
2007
12 Guatemala
55.1
2007
13 Brazil
53.9
2009
14 Thailand
53.6
2009
15 Hong Kong
53.3
2007
16 Paraguay
53.2
2009
17 Chile
52.1
2009
18 Mexico
51.7
2008
19 Panama
51.0
2010 est.
20 Papua New Guinea
50.9
1996
21 Zambia
50.8
2004
22 Swaziland
50.4
2001
23 Costa Rica
50.3
2009
24 Gambia, The
50.2
1998
25 Zimbabwe
50.1
2006
26 Dominican Republic
48.4
2007
27 Peru
48.0
2009
28 Singapore
47.8
2009
29 Madagascar
47.5
2001
30 Nepal
47.2
2008
31 Ecuador
46.9
June 2010
32 El Salvador
46.9
2007
33 Rwanda
46.8
2000
34 Malaysia
46.2
2009
35 Argentina
45.8
2009
36 Philippines
45.8
2006
37 Mozambique
45.6
2008
38 Jamaica
45.5
2004
39 Bulgaria
45.3
2007
40 United States
45.0
2007
41 Cameroon
44.6
2001
42 Iran
44.5
2006
43 Cambodia
44.4
2007 est.
44 Uganda
44.3
2009
45 Macedonia
44.2
2008
46 Nigeria
43.7
2003
47 Guyana
43.2
1999
48 Nicaragua
43.1
2001
49 Kenya
42.5
2008 est.
50 Uruguay
42.4
2009
51 Burundi
42.4
1998
52 Russia
42.2
2009
53 China
41.5
2007
54 Cote d'Ivoire
41.5
2008
55 Senegal
41.3
2001
56 Qatar
41.1
2007
57 Venezuela
41.0
2009
58 Morocco
40.9
2007 est.
59 Georgia
40.8
2009
60 Turkmenistan
40.8
1998
61 Sri Lanka
40.3
2007
62 Mali
40.1
2001
63 Tunisia
40.0
2005 est.
64 Turkey
39.7
2008
65 Jordan
39.7
2007
66 Burkina Faso
39.5
2007
67 Guinea
39.4
2007
68 Ghana
39.4
2005-06
69 Israel
39.2
2008
70 Mauritania
39.0
2000
71 Mauritius
39.0
2006 est.
72 Malawi
39.0
2004
73 Portugal
38.5
2007
74 Liberia
38.2
2007
75 Moldova
38.0
2008
76 Yemen
37.7
2005
77 Japan
37.6
2008
78 Lithuania
37.6
2008
79 Tanzania
37.6
2007
80 Vietnam
37.6
2008
81 Indonesia
36.8
2009
82 Uzbekistan
36.8
2003
83 India
36.8
2004
84 Laos
36.7
2008
85 Mongolia
36.5
2008
86 Benin
36.5
2003
87 Bosnia and Herzegovina
36.2
2007
88 New Zealand
36.2
1997
89 Latvia
35.7
2008
90 Algeria
35.3
1995
91 Albania
34.5
2008
92 Egypt
34.4
2001
93 Poland
34.2
2008
94 Niger
34.0
2007
95 United Kingdom
34.0
2005
96 Croatia
33.7
2008
97 Azerbaijan
33.7
2008
98 Switzerland
33.7
2008
99 Kyrgyzstan
33.4
2007
100 Bangladesh
33.2
2005
101 Greece
33.0
2005
102 France
32.7
2008
103 Tajikistan
32.6
2006
104 Taiwan
32.6
2000
105 Canada
32.1
2005
106 Spain
32.0
2005
107 Italy
32.0
2006
108 Timor-Leste
31.9
2007 est.
109 Estonia
31.4
2009
110 Korea, South
31.4
2009
111 Romania
31.2
2008
112 Armenia
30.9
2008
113 Netherlands
30.9
2007
114 Pakistan
30.6
FY07/08
115 Australia
30.5
2006
116 European Union
30.4
2009 est.
117 Kosovo
30.0
FY05/06
118 Montenegro
30.0
2008
119 Ethiopia
30.0
2000
120 Afghanistan
29.4
2008
121 Ireland
29.3
2009
122 Cyprus
29.0
2005
123 Denmark
29.0
2007
124 Slovenia
28.4
2008
125 Serbia
28.2
2008
126 Iceland
28.0
2006
127 Belgium
28.0
2005
128 Ukraine
27.5
2008
129 Belarus
27.2
2008
130 Germany
27.0
2006
131 Finland
26.8
2008
132 Kazakhstan
26.7
2009
133 Slovakia
26.0
2005
134 Luxembourg
26.0
2005
135 Malta
26.0
2007
136 Austria
26.0
2007
137 Czech Republic
26.0
2005
138 Norway
25.0
2008
139 Hungary
24.7
2009
140 Sweden
23.0
2005
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