WORLD INEQUALITY REPORT

WORLD INEQUALITY REPORT

WHY IN NEWS?

• The World Inequality Report 2026 has been released.
• It shows that income and wealth inequality in India are among the highest in the world.
• Key finding: Top 10% earn 58% of India’s income; bottom 50% earn only 15%.

WHAT THE REPORT SAYS ABOUT INDIA?

Income Inequality

• Top 10% earners → 58% of national income
• Bottom 50% → only 15%
• Earlier Report 2022: top 10% had 57%, bottom 50% had 13%. → inequality is not improving much.

Wealth Inequality (even worse)

• Top 10% hold 65% of total wealth
• Top 1% hold around 40% of all wealth
• Bottom 50% hold only tiny share.

Average Income & Wealth (PPP terms)

• Average income per person: 6,200 euros
• Average wealth per person: 28,000 euros

Gender Inequality

• Female labour participation: 15.7% — almost no improvement in last decade.
• Women earn:
  • 61% of men’s income per working hour (excluding unpaid work)
  • 32% when unpaid household work is included
• Women’s share in labour income:
  • South & Southeast Asia → 20%
  • MENA (Middle East & North Africa) → 16%
  • Europe/North America → around 40%

GLOBAL TRENDS

Extreme Global Wealth Concentration

• Top 0.001% (about 60,000 rich people globally) own 3× more wealth than the bottom 50% of humanity.
• Global top 10% own 75% of all wealth.
• Global bottom 50% own only 2%.
• Top 1% alone hold 37% of world wealth.

Ultra-rich Inequality

• Top 0.001% average wealth → ~1 billion euros
• Top 1 in 100 million (56 people worldwide) → 53 billion euros each

This shows inequality exists not only between rich and poor, but also within the rich.

INDIA’S POSITION IN GLOBAL INCOME DISTRIBUTION

• 1980 vs 2025 Comparison
  • 1980:
    • India was mostly in the bottom half of global income ranks.
    • China was also at the bottom.
• 2025:
• • China moved upward → large population entered global middle class.
  • India slipped backward → most people now in bottom 50%
  • Sub-Saharan Africa also remains in lowest brackets.

CLIMATE INEQUALITY

• Bottom 50% of world → only 3% of emissions from private capital.
• Top 10% → 77% of emissions.
• Top 1% → 41% of emissions alone.
• This shows climate crisis is driven mainly by the rich, not the poor.

WHY INEQUALITY PERSISTS?

a) Policy Failures in Taxation

• Ultra-rich often pay lower effective taxes than middle-class groups.
• Billionaires & centi-millionaires avoid tax through loopholes.
• Governments lose money needed for:
  • education
  • healthcare
  • climate action
  • welfare programmes

b) Low Public Investment

• Weak investment in:
  • schools
  • healthcare
  • nutrition
  • childcare

→ causes lifelong inequality.

c) Weak Social Security

• Cash transfers, pensions, and unemployment benefits are limited.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

1. Progressive Taxation

• Rich pay more, poor pay less. Helps reduce extreme gaps.

2. Strong Public Services Free or affordable:

• schools
• hospitals
• nutrition programmes
• childcare

→ reduces early-life inequality.

3. Social Support

• Pensions
• Unemployment benefits
• Direct cash transfers

→ helps poorest households.

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