Income inequality: Atkinson index in Canada
Canada: Income inequality: Atkinson index was 0.1598 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Canada, 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 Canada is 0.1598, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income inequality: atkinson index in Canada peaked at 0.1843 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.1598, in 2019.
Canada ranks 145th of 174 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.1768 | — |
| 2011 | 0.1686 | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 0.1802 | +6.9% |
| 2013 | 0.1843 | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 0.1747 | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 0.1816 | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 0.17 | -6.4% |
| 2017 | 0.1751 | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 0.1675 | -4.3% |
| 2019 | 0.1598 | -4.6% |
| 2020 | 0.1598 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.1598 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.1598 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.1598 | +0.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 0.1598 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.1703, 94% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.1739 | 0.1598 | 0.1843 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1598 | 0.1598 | 0.1598 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 142 Luxembourg 0.1644 compare
- 143 South Korea 0.1642 compare
- 144 East Timor 0.1608 compare
- 146 Estonia 0.1567 compare
- 147 Austria 0.1561 compare
- 148 Kiribati 0.1554 compare
More poverty & inequality data for Canada
- 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 1.35 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,695 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 -9.41 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.78 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.8% (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 Canada?
- Income inequality: atkinson index in Canada was 0.1598 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1843 in 2013.
- What is the lowest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1598 in 2019.
- How does Canada rank for income inequality: atkinson index?
- Canada ranks 145th out of 174 countries with data for 2023.
- Is income inequality: atkinson index rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada 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.