Today, nearly 2.8 billion adults worldwide—roughly equal to the combined adult populations of countries like China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, and Russia—share just 8% of the world’s total income. Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, a tiny group of about 56 million adults—about the size of the UK’s adult population—collects a staggering 20% of global earnings. What does this reveal?
It shows an extreme imbalance: a group no larger than Singapore’s population, representing the richest 0.1% of people, earns as much money as the poorest half of the world put together. This inequality didn't form suddenly. This problem started a long time ago and has been going on for 200 years. And this report explains just that — the World Inequality Report 2026.
CREDIBILITY OF THIS REPORT?
First, let's talk about the credibility of this report. Why should we trust it? This report is published every year by the World Inequality Lab. This is a global research network with more than 200 inequality scholars working in it—from every continent. Its origin is very interesting.
In the 1990s and 2000s, economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez—using tax records—showed the world that the income of the top 1% was increasing exponentially. This project gradually became the World Top Incomes Database, and eventually today's World Inequality Database (wid.world).
But it didn't remain limited to just tracking top incomes. In the 2010s, the Distributional National Accounts (DINA) Project was launched. What was its goal?
Every year, governments publish GDP growth rates. But they don't tell us which group benefited from that growth. This is where DINA's role becomes very important. DINA's goal is to publish separate growth rates for each group—the bottom 50%, the middle 40%, and the top 10%. Why?
Because without this, we cannot know who is actually benefiting from the growth and who is being left behind. So what does the DINA approach do?
It combines three sources:
- Household surveys (for socio-demographic details)
- Tax records (for top incomes and wealth)
- National accounts (for standardized benchmarks)
National accounts are used as a benchmark, and income/wealth is consistently distributed across different groups. Yes, these estimates are not perfect. But this is the most accurate attempt so far to create a global, transparent, and comparable picture of inequality. And most importantly: Everything is public. The methodology used, the computer codes, the data—everything is openly available. This means anyone can verify it.
So, today we will basically look at Income Inequality, Gender Inequality, and what I think is most important... Climate Inequality, and all these topics.
First, let's understand the difference between income and wealth, because many people confuse them.
What is income?
Income refers to the money you earn on a regular basis—monthly or yearly. It can come from different sources, such as a salary from a job, profits from a business, or rent you receive from property. Because it keeps coming in over time, income is best understood as a continuous flow of money.
For instance, if you earn ₹50,000 each month as salary, that amount represents your monthly income.
What is wealth?
Wealth means your total net worth - the total value of all the assets you own. This includes your house, car, savings, investments, gold, property - everything. Wealth is a stock—the total value of assets you own at a specific point in time.
For example, if you have 10 lakh in savings, property valued at 20 lakh, and shares worth 5 lakh, then your wealth is 35 lakh rupees.
Key difference: Wealth is built from income. The more you save and invest from what you earn, the more wealth you can build over time. Even someone with a high income can have no wealth at all if they spend everything they make. On the other hand, a person with a low income can slowly create wealth by saving carefully and investing wisely.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC INEQUALITY – The 200-Year Pattern
First, let's understand how unequal the world is? Because until you understand the global picture, regional or country-level analysis will be meaningless.
In 1800, there were only 1 billion people in the world. Today, in 2025, there are more than 8 billion. This means the population has increased 8 times in 225 years. The average growth rate was 0.9% per year.
In 1800, the average yearly income per person was approximately 900 euros (2025 PPP adjusted). Today, in 2025, it is 14,000 euros. This means income per person has increased 16 times. The average growth rate was 1.2% per year.
Now look at both curves together. From 1800 to 1900, both are almost flat. Then in the 20th century, both National Income and World population increase rapidly—but the income curve has grown more. What does this mean?
Modern economic growth had begun. Productivity increased—people started producing more than before. If today's global income were distributed equally, each person would receive ₹1 lakh per month (14,000 euros per year). But the reality?
Only 2.8 billion adults earn, and even they earn less than ₹35,000 per month. This graph clearly shows one thing: Growth has happened. Massive growth has happened. But not equally. How Do We Measure Inequality? To measure inequality, the entire population is divided into 3 groups.
- Bottom 50% – (Those who earn very low income) - half of the adult population
- Middle 40% – Those who earn a d
ecent income - Top 10% – The richest 10%
- Top 1% – The ultra-rich (this is shown zoomed in within the Top 10%)
The Numbers
- The Bottom 50% earn 8% of the total global income.
This means 2.8 billion people—are receiving only 8% of the world's total income.
Average income? ₹35,000 per month (5,100 euros per year).
- The Middle 40% earn 38%.
They earn relatively more. But notice: 40% of the people are also receiving only 38% of the income share. - The Top 10% earn 53% of the total income.
556 million people—who are only 10% of the total population—take home more than half of the global income.
Average income? ₹11 lakh per month (159,300 euros per year).
Now, let's focus on the top 1% within these top 10%. The Next 9% (P90-P99) earn 33%. The Top 1% earn 20%. What does this mean?
A group the size of the UK's adult population earns 2.5 times more than the entire bottom half of humanity. Keep in mind, we're talking about the adult population that is earning, not the entire population of the earth. So, 56 million people vs 2.8 billion people. And yet the top group earns 2.5 times more.
Birthday Cake Analogy
Imagine a birthday party. There are 100 people. There's a 100 kg cake. If there was equal distribution, everyone would get 1 kg. But the actual distribution:
- The first 50 people (bottom half) get 8 kg total—meaning 160 grams each.
- The middle 40 people get 38 kg—meaning 950 grams each.
- The last 10 people get 53 kg—meaning 5.3 kg each.
- And even among those 10, one single person takes 20 kg.
One person. 20 kg of cake. While 50 people share 8 kg. This is the actual global income distribution.
Threshold to Enter Top Groups
If you also want to be among these top 10% people, you will have to earn at least ₹4.5 lakh per month (65,500 euros per year). And, to be in the Top 1%? ₹18 lakh per month (250,300 euros per year).
Income vs Wealth: The Critical Distinction
There's another dimension to inequality: Wealth. You might earn ₹50,000 per month (income), but if you have inherited property worth ₹2 crore, then your wealth is much higher.
Wealth Numbers: Even More Extreme, Look at the same groups: Bottom 50%, Middle 40%, Top 10%. The bottom 50% own 2% of the total global wealth. Yes, you heard that right. Half of humanity owns only 2% of the wealth.
Average wealth? ₹5.5 lakh per adult (6,500 euros). We can't even buy an Alto car for that much anymore. The middle 40% own 24%.
This is much less than their 38% share of income. This means the middle class has relatively better income, but they are unable to convert it into wealth; whatever is left, Nirmala Sitharaman takes it away. Now look here, the top 10% own 75% of the total wealth. Three-quarters. 556 million people control 75% of the world's wealth.
Average wealth? ₹85 lakh per adult (1 million euros).
Now, among these:
- The top 1% own 37% of the total wealth. That means 56 million people own one-third of the world's wealth.
- And, the top 0.001%—56,000 adults, the number of people that would fill a football stadium—own 3% of global wealth.
This means that the number of people that would fill one stadium own as much as 2.8 billion people combined.
Why Is Wealth Inequality Worse?
There are two or three reasons behind wealth inequality:
- Inheritance: Money is passed down through generations via inheritance.
- Capital Gains: The wealthy get richer as asset prices increase.
- Compounding: Due to compounding, large sums of money grow faster — If you have ₹1 crore, you can invest it and earn returns. Whereas if you have ₹1 lakh, you might barely be able to save.
HISTORICAL PERSISTENCE
Is This New? Or Always Like This? Now a question arises: Is this inequality a recent phenomenon? Is it due to globalization? – Answer: No.
The inequality is almost the same today as it was 200 years ago.
- Top 10%: Always 50%+ income share—50% in 1820, 60% in 1910, 53% in 2025
- Bottom 50%: Never crossed 15%—14% in 1820, 7% in 1910, only 8% in 2025
- Middle 40%: Gains in the 1920s-1980s (up to 42%), but now constantly at 38%
- Top 1%: 20% in 1820, 16% in 1970, then 20% again in 2025
- Top 0.1%: 9% in 1820, 8% today—People in Singapore earn as much as the entire bottom 50% combined
This clearly shows that this is not a new phenomenon. For 200 years, the top 10% have consistently controlled 50%+ of the income. The bottom 50% has never crossed 15%. In the Upcoming blog, we'll discuss about the Gender Inequality and also Climate - A capital Problem.