Gini coefficient in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Gini coefficient was 0.3242 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
0.3242
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
78th
of 120 countries
All-time high
0.3885
in 2000
All-time low
0.2684
in 1968
Years of data
54
1968–2021
Gini coefficient in United Kingdom, 1968–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for gini coefficient in United Kingdom is 0.3242, measured in 2021.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gini coefficient in United Kingdom peaked at 0.3885 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.2684, in 1968.
That places United Kingdom 78th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Gini coefficient in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 0.2684 | — |
| 1969 | 0.2791 | +4.0% |
| 1970 | 0.2797 | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 0.2929 | +4.8% |
| 1972 | 0.2878 | -1.8% |
| 1973 | 0.2881 | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 0.2896 | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 0.2788 | -3.7% |
| 1976 | 0.2759 | -1.0% |
| 1977 | 0.2714 | -1.6% |
| 1978 | 0.2724 | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 0.2743 | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 0.2848 | +3.8% |
| 1981 | 0.2969 | +4.2% |
| 1982 | 0.299 | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 0.2979 | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 0.2917 | -2.1% |
| 1985 | 0.3042 | +4.3% |
| 1986 | 0.3192 | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 0.3386 | +6.1% |
| 1988 | 0.3428 | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 0.3336 | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 0.3574 | +7.2% |
| 1991 | 0.3497 | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 0.3496 | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.3508 | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 0.3598 | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 0.3552 | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 0.353 | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 0.3574 | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.3662 | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 0.3679 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.3885 | +5.6% |
| 2001 | 0.3709 | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 0.3515 | -5.2% |
| 2003 | 0.3486 | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 0.3484 | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 0.3549 | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 0.3588 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.3441 | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 0.3545 | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 0.3514 | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 0.3371 | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 0.3319 | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 0.3309 | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.327 | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 0.3314 | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 0.3331 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.3311 | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.3261 | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 0.3369 | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 0.3283 | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 0.3265 | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 0.3242 | -0.7% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 0.3242 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.3209, 1.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 0.3242 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.3058, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2737 | 0.2684 | 0.2791 | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.2811 | 0.2714 | 0.2929 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3109 | 0.2848 | 0.3428 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3567 | 0.3496 | 0.3679 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3572 | 0.3441 | 0.3885 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3314 | 0.3261 | 0.3371 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3253 | 0.3242 | 0.3265 | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More poverty & inequality data for United Kingdom
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.56 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,138 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -7.54 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.91 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.9% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gini coefficient in United Kingdom?
- Gini coefficient in United Kingdom was 0.3242 in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gini coefficient recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3885 in 2000.
- What is the lowest gini coefficient recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2684 in 1968.
- How does United Kingdom rank for gini coefficient?
- United Kingdom ranks 78th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is gini coefficient rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gini coefficient. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality.