Gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia
Russia: Gini coefficient (before tax) was 0.5397 in 2017. ▲ Rising
Gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia, 1820–2017
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia is 0.5397, measured in 2017.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia peaked at 0.6343 in 1996 and was at its lowest, 0.278, in 1968.
That places Russia 63rd out of 113 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 0.5285 | — |
| 1850 | 0.5322 | +0.7% |
| 1880 | 0.5387 | +1.2% |
| 1900 | 0.5505 | +2.2% |
| 1905 | 0.549 | -0.3% |
| 1928 | 0.296 | -46.1% |
| 1934 | 0.3195 | +7.9% |
| 1956 | 0.3646 | +14.1% |
| 1959 | 0.3642 | -0.1% |
| 1961 | 0.3539 | -2.8% |
| 1964 | 0.3349 | -5.4% |
| 1966 | 0.3083 | -7.9% |
| 1968 | 0.278 | -9.8% |
| 1972 | 0.2905 | +4.5% |
| 1976 | 0.2894 | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 0.3362 | +16.2% |
| 1985 | 0.338 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 0.3405 | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 0.3255 | -4.4% |
| 1991 | 0.3355 | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 0.4354 | +29.8% |
| 1993 | 0.4594 | +5.5% |
| 1994 | 0.5366 | +16.8% |
| 1995 | 0.5619 | +4.7% |
| 1996 | 0.6343 | +12.9% |
| 1997 | 0.5923 | -6.6% |
| 1998 | 0.5636 | -4.8% |
| 1999 | 0.5816 | +3.2% |
| 2000 | 0.6014 | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 0.6079 | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 0.5931 | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 0.5963 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 0.5892 | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 0.5826 | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 0.597 | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 0.5982 | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.6121 | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 0.5863 | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 0.5491 | -6.3% |
| 2011 | 0.5649 | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.5468 | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 0.5609 | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 0.5439 | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 0.5407 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.5433 | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.5397 | -0.7% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 0.5397 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4706, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Russia's 0.5397 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.4669, 1.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | -46.1% | 0.549 | 0.296 |
| 1992 | +29.8% | 0.3355 | 0.4354 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.5285 | 0.5285 | 0.5285 | 1 |
| 1850s | 0.5322 | 0.5322 | 0.5322 | 1 |
| 1880s | 0.5387 | 0.5387 | 0.5387 | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.5497 | 0.549 | 0.5505 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.296 | 0.296 | 0.296 | 1 |
| 1930s | 0.3195 | 0.3195 | 0.3195 | 1 |
| 1950s | 0.3644 | 0.3642 | 0.3646 | 2 |
| 1960s | 0.3188 | 0.278 | 0.3539 | 4 |
| 1970s | 0.2899 | 0.2894 | 0.2905 | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.3382 | 0.3362 | 0.3405 | 3 |
| 1990s | 0.5026 | 0.3255 | 0.6343 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5964 | 0.5826 | 0.6121 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5487 | 0.5397 | 0.5649 | 8 |
Countries ranked near Russia
More poverty & inequality data for Russia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 5 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 1.45 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,167 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 -7.65 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.47 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.5% (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 Russia?
- Gini coefficient (before tax) in Russia was 0.5397 in 2017, 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 Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6343 in 1996.
- What is the lowest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.278 in 1968.
- How does Russia rank for gini coefficient (before tax)?
- Russia ranks 63rd out of 113 countries with data for 2017.
- Is gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Russia 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 — 46 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.