Gini coefficient (before tax) in China
China: Gini coefficient (before tax) was 0.5536 in 2015. ▲ Rising
Gini coefficient (before tax) in China, 1979–2015
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
China recorded 0.5536 for gini coefficient (before tax) in 2015.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gini coefficient (before tax) in China peaked at 0.5647 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.3783, in 1979.
That places China 55th out of 113 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 37 years of available data.
Gini coefficient (before tax) in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.3783 | — |
| 1980 | 0.3847 | +1.7% |
| 1981 | 0.3894 | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 0.3916 | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.3943 | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 0.3992 | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 0.4067 | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 0.4165 | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 0.4203 | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 0.4238 | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 0.4327 | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 0.4295 | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 0.4447 | +3.5% |
| 1992 | 0.4594 | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 0.4742 | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 0.4802 | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 0.4742 | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 0.4684 | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 0.4681 | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 0.469 | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 0.4782 | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 0.495 | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 0.5044 | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 0.5315 | +5.4% |
| 2003 | 0.5398 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 0.5431 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 0.5551 | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 0.5563 | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.5597 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.56 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.5606 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 0.5647 | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 0.563 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.5517 | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 0.56 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 0.5528 | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 0.5536 | +0.1% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 0.5536 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5898, 94% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
- China's 0.5536 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5606, 99% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.3783 | 0.3783 | 0.3783 | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.4059 | 0.3847 | 0.4327 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4646 | 0.4295 | 0.4802 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5405 | 0.495 | 0.5606 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5576 | 0.5517 | 0.5647 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More poverty & inequality data for China
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 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 0.999 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,418 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 0.5767 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 22.1 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 22.1% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gini coefficient (before tax) in China?
- Gini coefficient (before tax) in China was 0.5536 in 2015, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5647 in 2010.
- What is the lowest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3783 in 1979.
- How does China rank for gini coefficient (before tax)?
- China ranks 55th out of 113 countries with data for 2015.
- Is gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 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. Inequality is measured here in terms of income before taxes and benefits.