Income share held by highest 20% in Australia
Australia: Income share held by highest 20% was 41.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Income share held by highest 20% in Australia, 1981–2020
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
Analysis
Australia recorded 41.3% for income share held by highest 20% in 2020.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share held by highest 20% in Australia peaked at 42.7% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 39.2%, in 1981.
That places Australia 69th out of 123 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Income share held by highest 20% in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 39.2% | — |
| 1985 | 40.2% | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 40.6% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 40.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 40.9% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 40.9% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 40.9% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 42.7% | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 42.0% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 42.2% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 41.1% | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 41.8% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 41.3% | -1.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 41.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 39.9%, 1.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Australia's 41.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 43.1%, 96% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 40.0% | 39.2% | 40.6% | 3 |
| 1990s | 40.4% | 40.4% | 40.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 41.4% | 40.9% | 42.7% | 4 |
| 2010s | 41.8% | 41.1% | 42.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 41.3% | 41.3% | 41.3% | 1 |
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 share held by highest 20% in Australia?
- Income share held by highest 20% in Australia was 41.3% in 2020, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
- What is the highest income share held by highest 20% recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 42.7% in 2008.
- What is the lowest income share held by highest 20% recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.2% in 1981.
- How does Australia rank for income share held by highest 20%?
- Australia ranks 69th out of 123 countries with data for 2020.
- Is income share held by highest 20% rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ, published as part of Income share held by highest 20%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.