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Income inequality, Gini

The UK ranks 17th of 27 on Income inequality, Gini (2022)

The UK ranks 17th of 27 on Income inequality, Gini in 2022: 32.4, unit index (0 to 100), against an EU27 median of 31.6. Source: World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI), SI.POV.GINI, snapshot of 6 November 2026.

Gini coefficient of income: 0 means everyone has the same income, 100 means one person has all of it.

Caveat. Survey-based and sparse. Latest World Bank year with 25 or more countries is 2022. Survey methods and income concepts differ, so compare trends with care.

The UK

Income inequality, Gini

32.4index (0 to 100)(2022)

17th of 27Moved up 3 places from 2016 to 2022.
EU27 median
31.6 index (0 to 100)
UK minus EU27 median
+0.8 index (0 to 100)

League table

Values in index (0 to 100). Countries ranked by value, 1 = top of the table, 27 with a value.

Income inequality, Gini, 2022: league table of countries
1Slovakia24.12022
2Slovenia24.32022
3Netherlands25.72021†
4Czechia25.92022
5Belgium26.42022
6Finland27.92022
7Poland28.92022
8Denmark29.32022
9Ireland29.92022
10Croatia30.02022
11Austria30.92022
12France31.22022
13Cyprus31.52022
14Sweden31.62022
15Estonia32.32022
15Romania32.32022
17United KingdomUK32.42021†
18Greece33.42022
19Spain33.62022
20Germany33.72022
20Italy33.72022
20Latvia33.72022
23Luxembourg34.12022
24Malta34.62022
25Portugal36.32022
26Lithuania36.62022
27Bulgaria38.22022
–Hungary––

latest available value, carried forward from an earlier year

Trend, 2000 to 2022

Income inequality, Gini, 2000 to 2022Line chart, 2000 to 2022: the UK (heavy ink line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.index (0 to 100)2530354020002005201020152020123United States42Italy34Australia34Germany34Switzerland34Spain33United Kingdom32Japan32France32Canada32Norway27Income inequality, Gini, 2000 to 2022Line chart, 2000 to 2022: the UK (heavy ink line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.index (0 to 100)25303540200020102020123United StatesItalyAustraliaGermanySwitzerlandSpainUnited KingdomJapanFranceCanadaNorway
  • Heavy ink line: United Kingdom
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Thin grey lines, reference countries (not the big four): Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States
  • Shaded: 2008–09 financial crisis
  • Shaded: 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic
  • Shaded: 2022–23 energy price shock
  • Marker 1: EU referendum (23 June 2016)
  • Marker 2: UK leaves the EU (31 January 2020)
  • Marker 3: Transition period ends; Trade and Cooperation Agreement in force (1 January 2021)
Trends show what happened, not why; Covid, energy prices and policy changes overlap the same years. Dotted lines are projections and are not ranked.

UK rank over time

Rank 1 is the top of the table; the line is drawn with rank 1 at the top. Each year is ranked on that year's values.

UK rank, 2004 to 2022: 23rd to 17th16th18th21st24th26th2005201020152020June 201617thUK rank, 2004 to 2022: 23rd to 17th16th18th21st24th26th20102020June 201617th

2004: 23rd · 2022: 17th

Sources and method

Gini coefficient of income: 0 means everyone has the same income, 100 means one person has all of it.

Source: World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · series SI.POV.GINI· vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators / Worldwide Governance Indicators (CC BY 4.0); accessed 2026-11-06.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank open data default); WGI and some datasets carry their own terms in the Data Catalog metadata. Reuse with credit allowed, including derived figures.