The Gini coefficient

A single number for how evenly income is shared.

The Gini coefficient ranges from 0, where everyone has the same income, to 100, where one person has all of it.

It summarises the whole distribution, so two countries can have the same Gini with different shapes of inequality. The income quintile share ratio (richest fifth compared with poorest fifth) is easier to read.

Eurostat measures disposable income. The World Bank combines income and consumption surveys depending on the country, which limits comparisons between the two.

Measures on this site

• Gini coefficient of disposable income (Eurostat) (Eurostat)
• Gini index (World Bank) (World Bank)
• Income quintile share ratio (S80/S20) (Eurostat)
• Income share held by the richest 10% (World Bank)