Three metrics of inequality in India
India: Three metrics of inequality was 63.92 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
63.92
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
15th
of 113 countries
All-time high
65.28
in 2017
All-time low
43.02
in 1982
Years of data
75
1923–2022
Three metrics of inequality in India, 1923–2022
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for three metrics of inequality in India is 63.92, measured in 2022.
The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, three metrics of inequality in India peaked at 65.28 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 43.02, in 1982.
That places India 15th out of 113 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Three metrics of inequality in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 57.22 | — |
| 1924 | 56.42 | -1.4% |
| 1925 | 56.15 | -0.5% |
| 1926 | 55.55 | -1.1% |
| 1927 | 55.19 | -0.6% |
| 1928 | 54.82 | -0.7% |
| 1929 | 54.14 | -1.2% |
| 1930 | 54.04 | -0.2% |
| 1931 | 54.46 | +0.8% |
| 1932 | 54.53 | +0.1% |
| 1933 | 55.12 | +1.1% |
| 1934 | 55.23 | +0.2% |
| 1935 | 55.31 | +0.1% |
| 1936 | 55.45 | +0.3% |
| 1937 | 55.6 | +0.3% |
| 1938 | 56.06 | +0.8% |
| 1939 | 56.18 | +0.2% |
| 1940 | 56.36 | +0.3% |
| 1941 | 54.95 | -2.5% |
| 1944 | 51.22 | -6.8% |
| 1945 | 50.23 | -1.9% |
| 1948 | 46.53 | -7.4% |
| 1949 | 45.05 | -3.2% |
| 1950 | 44.3 | -1.7% |
| 1954 | 49.82 | +12.5% |
| 1955 | 51 | +2.4% |
| 1956 | 51.33 | +0.6% |
| 1957 | 50.16 | -2.3% |
| 1958 | 50.63 | +0.9% |
| 1959 | 49.94 | -1.4% |
| 1960 | 48.84 | -2.2% |
| 1961 | 48.82 | -0.0% |
| 1962 | 48.3 | -1.1% |
| 1965 | 47.05 | -2.6% |
| 1966 | 47.42 | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 47.29 | -0.3% |
| 1968 | 46.74 | -1.2% |
| 1971 | 46.17 | -1.2% |
| 1974 | 45.92 | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 46.04 | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 46.21 | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 46.04 | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 45.68 | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 44.59 | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 44.05 | -1.2% |
| 1981 | 43.48 | -1.3% |
| 1982 | 43.02 | -1.1% |
| 1983 | 47.22 | +9.8% |
| 1984 | 45.76 | -3.1% |
| 1985 | 46.95 | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 47.22 | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 46.78 | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 47.54 | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 47.55 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 46.07 | -3.1% |
| 1991 | 46.48 | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 47.17 | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 48.53 | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 49.64 | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 49.67 | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 49.38 | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 49.99 | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 50.38 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 55.62 | +10.4% |
| 2012 | 62.64 | +12.6% |
| 2013 | 62.79 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 63.36 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 63.82 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 64.87 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 65.28 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 64.45 | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 63.99 | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 63.02 | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 63.2 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 63.92 | +1.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 63.92 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 57.89, 1.1× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 55.64 | 54.14 | 57.22 | 7 |
| 1930s | 55.2 | 54.04 | 56.18 | 10 |
| 1940s | 50.72 | 45.05 | 56.36 | 6 |
| 1950s | 49.6 | 44.3 | 51.33 | 7 |
| 1960s | 47.78 | 46.74 | 48.84 | 7 |
| 1970s | 45.81 | 44.59 | 46.21 | 7 |
| 1980s | 45.96 | 43.02 | 47.55 | 10 |
| 1990s | 48.59 | 46.07 | 50.38 | 9 |
| 2000s | 55.62 | 55.62 | 55.62 | 1 |
| 2010s | 63.9 | 62.64 | 65.28 | 8 |
| 2020s | 63.38 | 63.02 | 63.92 | 3 |
Countries ranked near India
More poverty & inequality data for India
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 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 1.98 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,632 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 0.8468 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 17.32 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 17.3% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is three metrics of inequality in India?
- Three metrics of inequality in India was 63.92 in 2022, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest three metrics of inequality recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 65.28 in 2017.
- What is the lowest three metrics of inequality recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.02 in 1982.
- How does India rank for three metrics of inequality?
- India ranks 15th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is three metrics of inequality rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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 Three metrics of inequality. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 75 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.