Editing Income distribution (section)

== Income distribution in different countries ==

===Japan===
Despite these issues, Japan's Gini coefficient—a measure of income inequality—remains lower than in many OECD countries. Still, the relative poverty rate highlights significant economic hardship among certain population segments. The government has responded with policies aimed at converting non-regular positions to regular ones, increasing the minimum wage, and enhancing social security for low-income families.
* Post-tax '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.32.
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 2.6%.
* '''GDP''' per capita: $40 850.
* '''Poverty''' rate: 15.7%
Addressing income inequality in Japan moving forward will require policies that tackle demographic challenges, ensure fair employment practices, and foster inclusive economic growth. Enhancing the social safety net and providing targeted assistance to vulnerable groups will be key to mitigating income inequality's impacts.

===India===
India's economy was growing rapidly in 2011, but a big section of the population was still living in poverty, making income disparity a serious problem.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_638305.pdf |title=India Wage Report |website=ilo.org |date=2018 |isbn=9789220311547 |access-date=2024-04-21}}</ref>

Post-tax Gini coefficient: In 2011, India's estimated Gini coefficient ranged from 0.33 to 0.36, indicating moderate to high levels of income inequality.

Rate of unemployment: During this time, India's jobless rate was roughly 9%.
GDP per capita: In 2011, the GDP per capita was approximately USD 1,500, indicating a significant income gap between developed countries and India.

Rate of poverty: In 2011, more than 20% of Indians were living below the country's poverty line, making it a high rate of poverty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wid.world/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WorldInequalityLab_WP2024_09_Income-and-Wealth-Inequality-in-India-1922-2023_Final.pdf |title=INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY IN INDIA, 1922-2023: THE RISE OF THE BILLIONAIRE RAJ |website=wid.world |date=March 2024 |access-date=2024-04-21}}</ref>

The Indian government put in place a number of measures to alleviate economic disparity, including:

The goal of social welfare initiatives like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is to provide jobs in rural areas.
Public Distribution System (PDS) and other subsidized food programs help low-income households maintain food security.
Economic changes like financial inclusion programs that give underprivileged people access to banking services in an effort to promote inclusive growth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Narayanan |first1=Sudha |last2=Gerber |first2=Nicolas |title=Social safety nets for food and nutrition security in India |journal=Global Food Security |date=December 2017 |volume=15 |pages=65–76 |doi=10.1016/j.gfs.2017.05.001 |bibcode=2017GlFS...15...65N }}</ref>
===Thailand===
[[Thailand]] has been ranked the world's third most unequal nation after Russia and India, with a widening gap between rich and poor according to [[Oxfam]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sukprasert|first1=Pattramon|title=Thailand 'third most unequal'|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1193341/thailand-third-most-unequal|access-date=6 February 2017|work=Bangkok Post|date=6 February 2017}}</ref> A study by [[Thammasat University]] economist Duangmanee Laovakul in 2013 showed that the country's top 20 land owners owned 80 percent of the nation's land. The bottom 20 owned only 0.3 percent. Among those having bank deposits, 0.1 percent of bank accounts held 49 per cent of total bank deposits.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chaitrong |first1=Wichit |title=Government urged to help 1.2m desperately poor Thais |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/detail/business/30352070 |access-date=14 August 2018 |work=The Nation |date=14 August 2019}}</ref> {{Asof|2019}}, Thai per capita income is US$8,000 a year. The government aims to raise it to US$15,000 (498,771 [[Thai baht|baht]]) per year, driven by average GDP growth of five to six percent. Under the 20-year national plan stretching out to 2036, the government intends to narrow the income disparity gap to 15 times, down from 20 times in 2018.<ref name="BP-20180814">{{cite news |last1=Theparat |first1=Chatrudee |title=Steering the NESDB through transition |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1521214/steering-the-nesdb-through-transition |access-date=14 August 2018 |work=Bangkok Post |date=14 August 2018}}</ref>

===Australia===
Australia was suffering from the global fallout from the 2008 financial crisis in 2011, but compared to many other industrialized countries, its economy remained comparatively strong, partly because of its solid mining industry and close trading relations with China.

Post-tax Gini coefficient: In 2011, Australia's Gini coefficient was roughly 0.33, showing a moderate degree of income inequality by global standards.

Rate of unemployment: In 2011, Australia's unemployment rate was 5.1%, which was consistent with a stable labor market.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-issue-2-2013-2/economic-roundup-issue-2-2013/income-inequality-in-australia |title=Income inequality in Australia |website=treasury.gov.au |date=2013-11-18 |access-date=2024-04-21}}</ref>

GDP per capita: In 2011, the GDP per capita was approximately USD 62,000, indicating a robust economy.

Poverty rate: Various estimates place the poverty rate between 12 and 13 percent.<ref name="treasury.gov.au_part-1-reasons-for-resilience">{{cite web |url=https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-issue-2-2011/economic-roundup-issue-2-2011/the-australian-economy-and-the-global-downturn-part-1-reasons-for-resilience |title=The Australian economy and the global downturn Part 1: Reasons for resilience |website=treasury.gov.au |date=2012-04-02 |access-date=2024-04-21}}</ref>

Australia's government prioritized resolving income inequities that were made worse by the global economic slump during this time, as well as maintaining economic stability.<ref name="treasury.gov.au_part-1-reasons-for-resilience"/> Among the measures taken to lessen income inequality were:

* Bolstering the social safety net by raising welfare payments.
* Introducing fiscal measures like progressive taxes that are intended to redistribute income. Encouraging work by taking steps to increase the number of jobs being created in different industries.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2018/03/bourguignon | title=Redistribution of * Income and Reducing Economic Inequality - IMF F&D Magazine }}</ref>

These measures were a part of Australia's larger strategy to guarantee that the country's economic expansion benefited all facets of society, especially in light of the unpredictability of the world economy.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Australian Economy in the 2000s: Proceedings of a Conference Held in Sydney on 15-16 August 2011 |date=2011 |publisher=Reserve Bank of Australia |isbn=978-0-9871488-5-8 |url=https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/confs/2011/pdf/conf-vol-2011.pdf }}{{pn|date=April 2024}}</ref>

=== United States ===
{{Main article|Household income in the United States}}
{{Further|Income inequality in the United States}}
{{multiple image | total_width       = 550
| title             = Income growth since 1970
| image1            = 1970- Relative income growth by percentiles - US.png
| caption1          = Relative income growth, organized by percentile classes, normalized to 1970 levels. Graph accounts for both income growth, and the hidden decline in the progressivity of the tax code at the top, the wealthiest earners having seen their ''effective'' tax rates steadily fall.<ref name=WashPost_20191209>{{cite news |last1=Sargent |first1=Greg |title=The massive triumph of the rich, illustrated by stunning new data |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/09/massive-triumph-rich-illustrated-by-stunning-new-data/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209180702/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/09/massive-triumph-rich-illustrated-by-stunning-new-data/ |archive-date=December 9, 2019 |url-status=live }} — Original data and analysis: Zucman, Gabriel and Saez, Emmanuel, ''The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay,'' W. W. Norton & Company. October 15, 2019.</ref>
| image2            = 1970- Relative income growth by percentiles - US logarithmic.png
| caption2          = Same data<ref name=WashPost_20191209/> as adjacent chart, but plotted on [[logarithmic scale]] to show absolute dollar amounts. Data shows a range of three orders of magnitude—a ~1000-fold difference.
}}
2011: In the United States, income has become distributed more unequally over the past 30 years, with those in the top quintile (20 percent) earning more than the bottom 80 percent combined.<ref name=cbo>[http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12485 Congressional Budget Office: Trends in the Distribution of Household Income Between 1979 and 2007]. October 2011.</ref>

2019: The wealthiest 10% of American households control nearly 75% of household net worth.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Stebbins|first=Grant Suneson and Samuel|title=These 15 countries have the widest gaps between rich and poor|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/28/countries-with-the-widest-gaps-between-rich-and-poor/39510157/|access-date=25 April 2021|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}</ref>

* Post-tax '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.39.
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 4.4%.
* '''GDP''' per capita: $53 632.
* '''Poverty''' rate: 11.1%.<ref name=NPR_2020-09-15 >{{ cite news | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/15/913131697/american-incomes-were-rising-until-the-pandemic-hit | title=American Incomes Were Rising, Until The Pandemic Hit | last=Horsley | first=Scott | newspaper=[[NPR]] | date=16 September 2020 | access-date=16 September 2020 | quote=Were it not for those survey problems, the Census Bureau estimates, median household income would have risen just 3.8% and the poverty rate would have registered as 11.1%. }}</ref>

Low unemployment rate and high GDP are signs of the health of the U.S. economy. But there is almost 18% of people living below the poverty line and the Gini coefficient is quite high. That ranks the United States 9th income inequal in the world.<ref name=":0" />

The U.S. has the highest level of income inequality among its (post-)industrialized peers.<ref name="upi.com">United Press International (UPI), June 22, 2018, [https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/06/22/UN-report-With-40M-in-poverty-US-most-unequal-developed-nation/8671529664548/?spt=su "U.N. Report: With 40M in Poverty, U.S. Most Unequal Developed Nation"]</ref> When measured for all households, U.S. income inequality is comparable to other developed countries before taxes and transfers, but is among the highest after taxes and transfers, meaning the U.S. shifts relatively less income from higher income households to lower income households. In 2016, average market income was $15,600 for the lowest [[Quantile|quintile]] and $280,300 for the highest quintile. The degree of inequality accelerated within the top quintile, with the top 1% at $1.8 million, approximately 30 times the $59,300 income of the middle quintile.<ref name="CBO_2016">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbo.gov/publication/55413|title=The Distribution of Household Income, 2016|date=July 2019|website=www.cbo.gov|publisher=Congressional Budget Office|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref>

The economic and political impacts of inequality may include slower GDP growth, reduced [[Economic mobility|income mobility]], higher poverty rates, greater usage of [[household debt]] leading to increased risk of financial crises, and [[political polarization]].<ref name="Krueger2012">{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/01/12/chairman-alan-krueger-discusses-rise-and-consequences-inequality-center-american-pro|title=Chairman Alan Krueger Discusses the Rise and Consequences of Inequality at the Center for American Progress|last=Krueger|first=Alan|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|date=January 12, 2012}}</ref><ref name="SA2020">{{cite journal |last1= Stewart |first1=Alexander J. |last2= McCarty |first2=Nolan |last3= Bryson |first3=Joanna J. |date=2020 |title=Polarization under rising inequality and economic decline
 |journal=[[Science Advances]] |volume=6 |issue=50 |pages= eabd4201|doi=10.1126/sciadv.abd4201|pmid=33310855 |pmc=7732181 |arxiv=1807.11477 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.4201S |s2cid=216144890 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Causes of inequality may include [[executive compensation]] increasing relative to the average worker, [[financialization]], greater [[Market concentration|industry concentration]], lower [[Union density|unionization rates]], lower effective tax rates on higher incomes, and technology changes that reward higher educational attainment.<ref name="NYTPorter2013">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/business/rethinking-the-income-gap-and-a-college-education.html|title=Rethinking the Rise of Inequality|last=Porter|first=Eduardo|date=November 12, 2013|publisher=NYT}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
Inequality in the UK has been very high in the past, and did not change much until the onset of industrialization. Incomes used to be remarkably concentrated pre-[[Industrial Revolution|industrial evolution]]: up to 40% of total income went into the pockets of the richest 5%.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Roser|first1=Max|last2=Ortiz-Ospina|first2=Esteban|date=5 December 2013|title=Income Inequality|url=https://ourworldindata.org/income-inequality|journal=Our World in Data}}</ref> In the more recent years income distribution is still an issue. The UK experienced a large increase in inequality during the 1980s—the incomes of the highest deciles increase while everyone else was stagnant. Uneven growth in the years leading up to 1991 meant further increases in inequality. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, more even growth across the distribution meant little changes in inequality, with rising incomes for everybody. In sight of [[Brexit]], there is more predicted income distribution discrepancies between wages.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roser |first1=Max |last2=Ortiz-Ospina |first2=Esteban |title=Income Inequality |url=https://ourworldindata.org/income-inequality |journal=Our World in Data |access-date=24 October 2019 |date=5 December 2013}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/brexit-and-wage-inequality-before-and-after/|title=Brexit and wage inequality: before and after|website=World Economic Forum|access-date=23 October 2019}}</ref>

2019: The United Kingdom was doing a lot to reduce one of the widest gaps between rich and poor citizens, what has led to getting on the 13th place in the ranking of income inequality in the world.<ref name=":0" />

* Post-tax '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.35.
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 4.3%.
* '''GDP''' per capita: $39 425.
* '''Poverty''' rate: 11.1%.<ref name=":0" />

=== Russia ===

*Post-tax '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.38.
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 5.2%.
* '''GDP''' per capita: $24 417.
* '''Poverty''' rate: NA.

Occupying the 11th place in the ranking of income inequality in the world. USA TODAY stated: "Russia has a Corruption Perceptions Index score of 28 – tied for the worst among OECD member states and affiliates and one of the lowest in the world. "<ref name=":0" /> The cause of the income gap are the close connections of Russian oligarchs and the government. Thanks to these relationships, oligarchs get lucrative business deals and earn more and more money.

=== South Africa ===
South Africa is well known for being one of the most unequal societies in the world. The first democratic elections in 1994 were promising in terms of equal opportunities and living standards for South African population, but a few decades later the inequality is still very high. For instance, the top decile’s share of income rose from 47 percent in 1994 to 60 percent in 2008 and 65 percent in 2017. The share of the poorest half of the population fell from 13 percent to 9 percent to 6 percent. <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/poverty-inequality-and-policy-in-southern-africa-137869|title= Poverty, Inequality and Policy in Southern Africa |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> An explanation for this trend is that South Africa governs a dual economy splitting the country into two different section. One section is built around an advanced capitalist economy while the other one is highly underdeveloped and mostly filled by black South Africans, which further leads to racial division of local population. As a result, on average a black South African earns three times less than a white South African. <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-11-18-whites-earn-three-times-more-than-black-people-stats-sa/|title= Whites earn three times more than blacks: Stats SA |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>

* Post-tax '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.62.
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 27.3%.
* '''GDP''' per capita: $12 287.
* '''Poverty''' rate: 26.6%.
The highest income inequality is in South Africa, based on 2019 data.<ref name=":0" />

=== Brazil ===
Income distribution is typically higher is typically higher in developing economies than in advanced economies. In most major emerging economies, income inequality rose over the past three decades (2016), namely in China, Russia, South Africa and India.<ref> Derviş, K., & Qureshi, Z. (2016). Income distribution within countries: Rising in===Chiequality. Global Economy and Development. Brookings.</ref> Although some might argue,<ref>World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2023) – processed by Our World in Data</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/WP/2017/wp17225.ashx|title= Inequality in Brazil: A Regional Perspective |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} </ref> the Brazilian Institute of Statistics claims that from 2004 to 2014, income inequality in Brazil declined. The Gini coefficient for household per capita income has gone down from 0,54 to 0,49. This decline is due to boosted income of the poor by sustained economic growth and implementation of social policies, for example increase in minimum wage or targeted social programs. In particular, the Bolsa Família program, introduced by reelected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose goal is to support families in need. Although criticized, this program has not only helped reduce income inequality, but also increased literacy and lower child labor and mortality. In addition, progressive taxation, as well as schooling, demographic changes, and labor market segmentation, contributed to reducing inequality.

Even though Brazil has managed to lower its income inequality, it is still very high compared to the rest of the world, with around half of the total income being concentrated among the richest 10 per cent, a little above a fifth among the top 1 per cent, and close to one tenth among the top 0.1 per cent.<ref>Piketty, T. 2014. Capital in the XXI century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.</ref>

* '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.52(2022)
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 8.032% (2024).<ref>{{cite web |url= https://gfmag.com/data/economic-data/world-unemployment-rates/ |title= Unemployment Rates Around the World 2024 |last= |first= |date= 18 April 2024|website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>
* '''GDP''' per capita: $17,827.6 (2022)
* '''Poverty''' rate: 1.4% (3,65$) (2023)

===China===
{{Main article|Income distribution in China}}
China is one the fastest growing economies in the world since its reform policies in late 1970s. However, this phenomenon is often accompanied by an increase in income inequality. China's Gini coefficient has risen from 0,31 to 0,491 between the years 1981 and 2008. The main reason for China's high Gini coefficient is an income gap between rural and urban household. The share of the urban–rural income gap in total income inequality increased by 10 per cent over the period 1995–2007, rising from 38 to 48%.<ref>Shi, L., & Renwei, Z. (2011). Market reform and the widening of the income gap. Social Sciences in China, 32(2), 140-158.</ref> In China, constraints on migration limit the extent to which rural residents can move to urban areas in search of higher incomes and thereby reduce the urban–rural income gap. Although the urbanization rate has more than doubled in last 50 years, the prosses is still decelerated by various institutional and social barriers. As a result the share of national income of China's top 10% wealthiest people is 41%.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://sccei.fsi.stanford.edu/china-briefs/rise-wealth-private-property-and-income-inequality-china |title= The Rise of Wealth, Private Property, and Income Inequality in China |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} </ref>

* '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.371(2020)
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 5.1% (2024)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://gfmag.com/data/economic-data/world-unemployment-rates/ |title= Unemployment Rates Around the World 2024 |last= |first= |date= 18 April 2024|website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>
* '''GDP''' per capita: $21,482.6 (2022)
* '''Poverty''' rate: 2% (3,65$) (2020)

===Nordic countries===
In the past, the income distribution in Nordic countries including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland was renowned for being relatively low compared to the rest of the world. This is caused by a combination of factors such as progressive taxation, strong social welfare system, strong labor market institutions, and a culture of social cohesion which definitely contributes to them being notoriously the happiest in the world. Moreover, Nordic countries seem to be unaffected by the trends towards increasing inequality and higher unemployment observed in other countries, particularly the US and the UK <ref>Martela, F., Greve, B., Rothstein, B., & Saari, J. (2020). The Nordic exceptionalism: What explains why the Nordic countries are constantly among the happiest in the world. World happiness report, 2020, 129-146.</ref> Even though each of the Nordic countries have experienced temporarily rising income inequality, and they have all been affected by economic crises, they all shown a remarkable ability to recover and return to a persistent growth path and a stable relatively low income inequality. 

The following data is for Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland respectively
* '''Gini''' coefficient: 0.283 (2021), 0.298 (2021), 0.277 (2019), 0.277 (2021), 0.261 (2017)
* '''Unemployment''' rate: 4.892% (2024), 8.365% (2024), 3,8% (2024),4.892% (2024), 3.383% (2024)
* '''GDP''' per capita: $77,953.7 (2022), $68,178.0 (2022), $121,259.2 (2022), $62,823.0 (2022), $71,840.1 (2022)
* '''Poverty''' rate: 0,2% (3,65$) (2021), 0,8% (3,65$) (2021), 0,3% (3,65$) (2019), 0% (3,65$) (2021), 0% (3,65$) (2017)