Income inequality: Palma ratio (after tax) by country
The Palma ratio is a measure of inequality that divides the share received by the richest 10% by the share of the poorest 40%. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of income after taxes and benefits.
What the numbers show
Income inequality: Palma ratio (after tax) is currently reported for 48 countries. The highest value is 7.06 in South Africa; the lowest is 0.7589 in Slovakia.
The median across all reporting countries is 1.15, and the mean is 1.47.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9.
Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 31 fell. The largest increase was in Denmark (up 21.9%), and the largest decrease in Mexico (down 33.3%).
Income inequality: Palma ratio (after tax): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 7.06 | 2023 | down 0.2% | falling |
| 2 | Colombia | 3.43 | 2023 | up 10.6% | falling |
| 3 | Chile | 2.54 | 2017 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 4 | Panama | 2.48 | 2019 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 5 | Brazil | 2.47 | 2022 | up 0.3% | falling |
| 6 | Paraguay | 2.45 | 2024 | down 26.7% | falling |
| 7 | Peru | 2.27 | 2021 | down 19.6% | falling |
| 8 | United States | 1.8 | 2024 | up 4.9% | rising |
| 9 | Mexico | 1.72 | 2024 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 10 | Uruguay | 1.7 | 2024 | up 8.4% | falling |
| 11 | Bulgaria | 1.62 | 2022 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 12 | Mali | 1.58 | 2024 | up 11.1% | flat |
| 13 | Philippines | 1.57 | 2023 | down 29.9% | falling |
| 14 | Vietnam | 1.44 | 2013 | down 9.5% | falling |
| 15 | Lithuania | 1.43 | 2023 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 16 | Israel | 1.33 | 2022 | down 15.6% | rising |
| 17 | Georgia | 1.31 | 2022 | down 33.1% | falling |
| 18 | South Korea | 1.27 | 2021 | up 13.9% | rising |
| 19 | Italy | 1.27 | 2022 | down 2.3% | rising |
| 20 | Australia | 1.24 | 2020 | down 4.3% | rising |
| 21 | Switzerland | 1.2 | 2022 | up 15.7% | rising |
| 22 | Germany | 1.17 | 2022 | up 12.8% | rising |
| 23 | Spain | 1.16 | 2022 | down 9.5% | flat |
| 24 | Taiwan | 1.15 | 2021 | down 3.3% | rising |
| 25 | Estonia | 1.15 | 2016 | down 0.9% | falling |
| 26 | Greece | 1.15 | 2021 | down 7.1% | falling |
| 27 | Serbia | 1.13 | 2022 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 28 | France | 1.11 | 2022 | down 6.5% | falling |
| 29 | Japan | 1.11 | 2020 | up 7.0% | falling |
| 30 | Russia | 1.1 | 2022 | down 27.0% | falling |
| 31 | Canada | 1.09 | 2022 | down 8.5% | rising |
| 32 | United Kingdom | 1.08 | 2024 | down 8.1% | rising |
| 33 | Denmark | 1.05 | 2022 | up 21.9% | rising |
| 34 | Poland | 1.04 | 2023 | down 12.9% | flat |
| 35 | Luxembourg | 1.04 | 2023 | up 5.4% | rising |
| 36 | Romania | 1.03 | 2021 | down 7.0% | rising |
| 37 | Austria | 1.02 | 2023 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 38 | Ireland | 0.9981 | 2023 | down 13.3% | falling |
| 39 | Netherlands | 0.947 | 2021 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 40 | Sweden | 0.9455 | 2023 | down 4.9% | rising |
| 41 | Hungary | 0.9374 | 2015 | down 11.7% | falling |
| 42 | Finland | 0.9062 | 2016 | down 3.5% | rising |
| 43 | Norway | 0.8924 | 2022 | up 4.6% | rising |
| 44 | Slovenia | 0.8914 | 2015 | up 16.9% | rising |
| 45 | Iceland | 0.8776 | 2017 | down 22.3% | falling |
| 46 | Belgium | 0.825 | 2024 | down 7.5% | flat |
| 47 | Czechia | 0.8215 | 2023 | down 9.5% | flat |
| 48 | Slovakia | 0.7589 | 2018 | down 9.4% | flat |
About this data
The Palma ratio is a measure of inequality that divides the share received by the richest 10% by the share of the poorest 40%. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of income after taxes and benefits.