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World Bank Group · Income Share Held by Richest 10%
Income share of the richest 10% by country
How much of a country's income goes to its richest tenth?
Of the 60 countries compared in 2023, Slovakia had the lowest reading, 18.79%, and Colombia had the highest reading, 43.08%. In the middle country the figure was 26.18%. Among the 24 countries measured in every edition since 2002, the middle one moved from 27.20% to 25.45%.
Income share of the richest 10% · 2023
Context statistic
Lowest of 60Slovakia
18.79%012023 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 60 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: József Süveg derivative work: Danapit · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: Kumaravels derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי · CC BY 2.5 in, greyscale
3Photo: Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
02Every measured country
Income share of the richest 10% on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 31.28–43.08%
- 27.26–31.14%
- 25.10–27.14%
- 22.93–25.02%
- 18.79–22.88%
- No reading in 2023 (109 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
24.61%
the middle country, of 28 measured · 49 members
Slovakia18.79%
Bulgaria31.14%Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Asia
26.60%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 52 members
India20.52%
Türkiye34.43%Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Americas
33.02%
the middle country, of 15 measured · 48 members
Dominican Republic29.14%
Colombia43.08%Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Africa
2 of 55 measured — too few for a middle: Rwanda, Uganda.
Uganda29.31%
Rwanda33.41%Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
1 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati.
Kiribati20.91%Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
14 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Eastern Europe
22.76%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 10 members
Slovakia18.79%Bulgaria31.14%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Northern Europe
23.85%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 13 members
Norway21.56%
Lithuania27.26%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Southern Europe
24.72%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 17 members
Slovenia20.63%
Portugal26.94%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Europe
25.00%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Belgium22.21%
Switzerland26.35%Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Western Asia
26.60%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 19 members
Armenia22.88%Türkiye34.43%Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- South America
32.23%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 12 members
Peru30.60%Colombia43.08%Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Central America
34.11%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
El Salvador29.66%
Panama36.90%Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Caribbean
1 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic29.14%Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Kyrgyzstan22.99%
Tajikistan29.90%Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Africa
2 of 19 measured — too few for a middle: Rwanda, Uganda.
Uganda29.31%Rwanda33.41%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Micronesia
1 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati.
Kiribati20.91%Lowest and highest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern America
1 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: United States.
United States30.91%Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
- South-eastern Asia
3 of 11 measured — too few for a middle: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand.
Thailand26.12%
Philippines31.61%Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Asia
2 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: India, Iran.
India20.52%
Iran28.16%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
60 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 26.18%; a quarter are above 30.81%, and a quarter below 23.56%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 169 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first — position 1 is the highest value, the way World Bank Group’s own tables read. “=” marks a position shared with another country. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. Household surveys tend to miss the very richest households, so this is best read as a floor on the top tenth’s share rather than the whole of it. Surveys that measure consumption rather than income usually show a smaller top share, so check the survey type before comparing two rows — and the country set changes every year.
Showing 25 of 169 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052002–2023 · 22 reference years
Over time
Each point is one reference year from 2002, taken from the top-decile share the World Bank computes from household surveys.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 24 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 60 | 26.18% | 23.56% – 30.81% | 25.45% |
| 2022 | 73 | 26.21% | 24.52% – 30.07% | 25.48% |
| 2021 | 82 | 26.26% | 24.51% – 29.83% | 25.54% |
| 2020 | 71 | 25.94% | 23.63% – 29.80% | 25.44% |
| 2019 | 79 | 25.66% | 23.62% – 29.75% | 25.83% |
| 2018 | 94 | 26.81% | 23.94% – 30.73% | 26.64% |
| 2017 | 79 | 26.03% | 23.81% – 29.91% | 26.43% |
| 2016 | 84 | 25.91% | 23.79% – 30.66% | 25.91% |
| 2015 | 87 | 26.87% | 24.58% – 31.63% | 26.43% |
| 2014 | 84 | 26.46% | 24.00% – 30.26% | 26.20% |
| 2013 | 78 | 26.64% | 23.94% – 31.22% | 26.52% |
| 2012 | 87 | 26.64% | 23.88% – 31.33% | 26.58% |
| 2011 | 82 | 26.22% | 24.06% – 31.09% | 26.01% |
| 2010 | 87 | 26.22% | 24.12% – 30.82% | 25.98% |
| 2009 | 83 | 26.68% | 24.21% – 31.85% | 26.06% |
| 2008 | 79 | 26.99% | 24.52% – 32.77% | 26.78% |
| 2007 | 73 | 26.55% | 24.62% – 30.60% | 26.77% |
| 2006 | 82 | 27.48% | 24.51% – 33.15% | 26.82% |
| 2005 | 81 | 28.64% | 24.91% – 34.96% | 27.02% |
| 2004 | 75 | 27.15% | 24.32% – 32.72% | 27.43% |
| 2003 | 69 | 28.20% | 23.97% – 35.05% | 27.38% |
| 2002 | 68 | 28.87% | 25.48% – 36.51% | 27.20% |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → afterWorsened most
before → after
Uzbekistan23.22% → 25.33% · 58th → 35th+2.11
Georgia25.20% → 26.90% · 45th → 27th+1.70- Iran26.84% → 28.16% · 32nd → 23rd+1.32
Argentina29.82% → 30.99% · 20th → 14th+1.17- Bulgaria30.09% → 31.14% · 18th → 13th+1.05
51 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023. The field changed from 73 to 60 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Income share of the richest 10% in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
54.75%
Share of national income or consumption held by the richest tenth (%)
Lowest reading on record
18.22%
Share of national income or consumption held by the richest tenth (%)
Biggest improvement between editions
−13.06
45.91% → 32.85%
Biggest decline between editions
+17.15
28.76% → 45.91%
Most improved since first measured
−15.31
46.59% → 31.28%
At the top most often
11 of 22
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About income share of the richest 10%
This is how much of all the income or consumption in a country goes to its richest tenth of people. Perfect equality would put 10% here; in practice the richest tenth hold somewhere between about a fifth and a half, which makes it the plainest single picture of how far the top pulls away.
What the number is: Share of national income or consumption held by the richest tenth (%).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Economy & Innovation and Poverty & Inequality, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Economy & InnovationPoverty & InequalityWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where income share of the richest 10% is higher, these tend to be higher too.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Moves against
Where income share of the richest 10% is higher, these tend to be lower.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 0 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
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11Questions
Income share of the richest 10%: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest income share of the richest 10%?
Slovakia, at 18.79%, among the 60 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the highest income share of the richest 10%?
Colombia, at 43.08%, among the 60 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Income Share Held by Richest 10% cover?
60 in 2023, and 169 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 60 to 94 between editions.
What is the world average income share of the richest 10%?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 60 compared in 2023, the figure was 26.18%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No. World Bank Group publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Income Share Held by Richest 10% published?
This site holds 22 reference years, 2002–2023, all recalculated in World Bank Group’s 2026 report on one method — not 22 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. Read from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform rather than its indicator API, which rounds the same figure to one decimal. Years outside 2002–2023 fall below 60 countries and are not imported. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Income Share Held by Richest 10% — World Bank Group
Read from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform rather than its indicator API, which rounds the same figure to one decimal. Years outside 2002–2023 fall below 60 countries and are not imported.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: World Bank. Poverty and Inequality Platform. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-26.
How this page reads the numbers
- World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Slovakia — József Süveg derivative work: Danapit, CC BY-SA 3.0
- India — Kumaravels derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, CC BY 2.5 in
- Slovenia — Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Income share of the richest 10% by country: Income Share Held by Richest 10%, data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/income-share-richest-10