Income inequality: Atkinson index in Botswana
Botswana: Income inequality: Atkinson index was 0.4548 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Botswana, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, income inequality: atkinson index in Botswana stood at 0.4548. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income inequality: atkinson index in Botswana peaked at 0.5331 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.4548, in 2016.
That places Botswana 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.5331 | — |
| 2011 | 0.5331 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.5331 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.5331 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.5331 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.5331 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.4548 | -14.7% |
| 2017 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.4548 | +0.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 0.4548 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2515, 1.8× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 0.4548 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.4345, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.5018 | 0.4548 | 0.5331 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4548 | 0.4548 | 0.4548 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
- 16 Equatorial Guinea 0.4842 compare
- 17 Somalia 0.4741 compare
- 18 Dominica 0.4605 compare
- 20 Central African Republic 0.4547 compare
- 21 Cape Verde 0.4538 compare
- 22 Madagascar 0.4488 compare
More poverty & inequality data for Botswana
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 0 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 2.73 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 900.4 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 3.47 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 22.79 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 22.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income inequality: atkinson index in Botswana?
- Income inequality: atkinson index in Botswana was 0.4548 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5331 in 2010.
- What is the lowest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4548 in 2016.
- How does Botswana rank for income inequality: atkinson index?
- Botswana ranks 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2023.
- Is income inequality: atkinson index rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana 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.