Income inequality: Atkinson index in Australia
Australia: Income inequality: Atkinson index was 0.1849 in 2023. ▬ Flat
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Australia, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for income inequality: atkinson index in Australia is 0.1849, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income inequality: atkinson index in Australia peaked at 0.1879 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.1778, in 2016.
Australia ranks 128th of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.1879 | — |
| 2011 | 0.1879 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.1879 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.1879 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.1844 | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 0.1844 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.1778 | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 0.1778 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.1849 | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 0.1849 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.1849 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.1849 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.1849 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.1849 | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.1849 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1703, 1.1× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.1849 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2171, 85% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.1846 | 0.1778 | 0.1879 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1849 | 0.1849 | 0.1849 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More poverty & inequality data for Australia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 3 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 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,690 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.4% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income inequality: atkinson index in Australia?
- Income inequality: atkinson index in Australia was 0.1849 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1879 in 2010.
- What is the lowest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1778 in 2016.
- How does Australia rank for income inequality: atkinson index?
- Australia ranks 128th out of 174 countries with data for 2023.
- Is income inequality: atkinson index rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income inequality: Atkinson index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Depending on the country and year, the data relates to income measured after taxes and benefits, or to consumption, per capita.