Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada
Canada: Reduction in income inequality before and after tax was 29.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada, 1976–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada stood at 29.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.4% on the previous year and up 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada peaked at 36.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 20.6%, in 1979.
Canada ranks 26th of 39 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 20.9% | — |
| 1977 | 21.5% | +2.8% |
| 1978 | 21.4% | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 20.6% | -3.7% |
| 1980 | 21.7% | +5.2% |
| 1981 | 21.7% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 24.5% | +12.9% |
| 1983 | 25.4% | +3.4% |
| 1984 | 25.9% | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 25.4% | -2.1% |
| 1986 | 25.6% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 25.8% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 26.7% | +3.5% |
| 1989 | 26.6% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 28.1% | +5.6% |
| 1991 | 29.7% | +5.6% |
| 1992 | 30.8% | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 32.3% | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 32.4% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 31.6% | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 31.1% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 30.4% | -2.2% |
| 1998 | 30.2% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 29.4% | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 27.9% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 27.8% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 27.6% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 27.8% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 27.0% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 27.3% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 26.7% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 26.6% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 26.6% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 27.5% | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 28.2% | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 27.5% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 26.5% | -4.0% |
| 2013 | 26.5% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 26.6% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 26.7% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 28.4% | +6.4% |
| 2017 | 29.1% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 29.0% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 28.6% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 36.1% | +26.3% |
| 2021 | 33.0% | -8.4% |
| 2022 | 29.7% | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 29.3% | -1.4% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 29.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 34.3%, 85% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +26.3% | 28.6% | 36.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 21.1% | 20.6% | 21.5% | 4 |
| 1980s | 24.9% | 21.7% | 26.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.6% | 28.1% | 32.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.3% | 26.6% | 27.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.7% | 26.5% | 29.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.0% | 29.3% | 36.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
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 reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada?
- Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Canada was 29.3% in 2023, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 36.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.6% in 1979.
- How does Canada rank for reduction in income inequality before and after tax?
- Canada ranks 26th out of 39 countries with data for 2023.
- Is reduction in income inequality before and after tax rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Reduction in income inequality before and after tax. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This is the percentage difference between the Gini coefficient before taxes and benefits and the Gini coefficient after taxes and benefits.