<p>Income inequality in India remains among the highest in the world and has shown little movement in recent years. The top 10% of earners capture about 58% of national income, while the bottom 50% receive only 15%.<br><br>Wealth inequality is even greater, with the richest 10% holding around 65% of total wealth and the top 1% about 40%, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.</p>.<p><br><br>The report, released by the World Inequality Lab, reveals that the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50% remained stable between 2014 and 2024.</p><p><br>Average annual income per capita in India is around 6,200 euros, or around Rs 6.5 lakh, (purchasing power parity - PPP), and average wealth stands at about 28,000 euros, or around Rs 29.4 lakh (PPP).<br></p>.<p>According to the report, female labour participation remains very low at 15.7%, showing no improvement over the past decade.</p>.<p><br><br>"Overall, inequality in India remains deeply entrenched across income, wealth, and gender dimensions, highlighting persistent structural divides within the economy," the report, prefaced by economists Jayati Ghosh and Joseph Stiglitz, states.<br><br>The 2026 report is the third edition in the series, following the 2018 and 2022 editions. The reports draw from the work of over 200 scholars from all over the world, affiliated with the World Inequality Lab and contributing to the largest database on the historical evolution of global inequality.</p>.<p><br><br>Ricardo Gómez-Carrera, the lead author of the report, has said that "inequality is silent until it becomes scandalous”. “This report gives voice to inequality – and to the billions of people whose opportunities are frustrated by today’s unequal social and economic structures.”<br><br><strong>Trends at the global level</strong><br><br>The report notes that globally, income and wealth have reached "historic highs but remain very unevenly distributed".</p>. <p><br><br>Citing an example, the report notes that the top 0.001% — fewer than 60,000 multimillionaires — owns three times more wealth than the entire bottom 50% of humanity combined.<br><br>Their share has grown steadily from almost 4% in 1995 to over 6 %, which underscores the persistence of inequality.</p>.<p><br><br>This imbalance is compounded by regional disparities, as South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa lag far behind North America and Oceania and Europe, according to the report. Within almost every region, the top 1% alone holds more wealth than the bottom 90% combined.</p>.<p><br><br>According to the report, the global top 10% owns three-quarters of all wealth, while the bottom 50% holds just 2%. "Zooming further in, the concentration becomes staggering. The top 1% alone, roughly the adult population of the United Kingdom, controls 37% of global wealth. This is more than 18 times the wealth of the entire bottom half of the world population, a group as large as the combined adult populations of China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, and Russia."</p>
<p>Income inequality in India remains among the highest in the world and has shown little movement in recent years. The top 10% of earners capture about 58% of national income, while the bottom 50% receive only 15%.<br><br>Wealth inequality is even greater, with the richest 10% holding around 65% of total wealth and the top 1% about 40%, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.</p>.<p><br><br>The report, released by the World Inequality Lab, reveals that the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50% remained stable between 2014 and 2024.</p><p><br>Average annual income per capita in India is around 6,200 euros, or around Rs 6.5 lakh, (purchasing power parity - PPP), and average wealth stands at about 28,000 euros, or around Rs 29.4 lakh (PPP).<br></p>.<p>According to the report, female labour participation remains very low at 15.7%, showing no improvement over the past decade.</p>.<p><br><br>"Overall, inequality in India remains deeply entrenched across income, wealth, and gender dimensions, highlighting persistent structural divides within the economy," the report, prefaced by economists Jayati Ghosh and Joseph Stiglitz, states.<br><br>The 2026 report is the third edition in the series, following the 2018 and 2022 editions. The reports draw from the work of over 200 scholars from all over the world, affiliated with the World Inequality Lab and contributing to the largest database on the historical evolution of global inequality.</p>.<p><br><br>Ricardo Gómez-Carrera, the lead author of the report, has said that "inequality is silent until it becomes scandalous”. “This report gives voice to inequality – and to the billions of people whose opportunities are frustrated by today’s unequal social and economic structures.”<br><br><strong>Trends at the global level</strong><br><br>The report notes that globally, income and wealth have reached "historic highs but remain very unevenly distributed".</p>. <p><br><br>Citing an example, the report notes that the top 0.001% — fewer than 60,000 multimillionaires — owns three times more wealth than the entire bottom 50% of humanity combined.<br><br>Their share has grown steadily from almost 4% in 1995 to over 6 %, which underscores the persistence of inequality.</p>.<p><br><br>This imbalance is compounded by regional disparities, as South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa lag far behind North America and Oceania and Europe, according to the report. Within almost every region, the top 1% alone holds more wealth than the bottom 90% combined.</p>.<p><br><br>According to the report, the global top 10% owns three-quarters of all wealth, while the bottom 50% holds just 2%. "Zooming further in, the concentration becomes staggering. The top 1% alone, roughly the adult population of the United Kingdom, controls 37% of global wealth. This is more than 18 times the wealth of the entire bottom half of the world population, a group as large as the combined adult populations of China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, and Russia."</p>
