Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in India
India: Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) was 58.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
58.9%
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
11th
of 113 countries
All-time high
59.9%
in 2017
All-time low
30.9%
in 1982
Years of data
75
1923–2022
Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in India, 1923–2022
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
India recorded 58.9% for income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in 2022.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in India peaked at 59.9% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 30.9%, in 1982.
That places India 11th out of 113 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 51.8% | — |
| 1924 | 50.8% | -1.8% |
| 1925 | 50.4% | -0.7% |
| 1926 | 49.7% | -1.4% |
| 1927 | 49.2% | -0.9% |
| 1928 | 48.8% | -1.0% |
| 1929 | 48.0% | -1.6% |
| 1930 | 47.8% | -0.4% |
| 1931 | 48.3% | +1.0% |
| 1932 | 48.4% | +0.2% |
| 1933 | 49.0% | +1.4% |
| 1934 | 49.2% | +0.3% |
| 1935 | 49.3% | +0.2% |
| 1936 | 49.5% | +0.4% |
| 1937 | 49.7% | +0.4% |
| 1938 | 50.2% | +1.1% |
| 1939 | 50.4% | +0.3% |
| 1940 | 50.7% | +0.5% |
| 1941 | 48.9% | -3.5% |
| 1944 | 44.1% | -9.8% |
| 1945 | 42.8% | -3.0% |
| 1948 | 38.1% | -11.1% |
| 1949 | 36.2% | -4.9% |
| 1950 | 35.2% | -2.8% |
| 1954 | 38.8% | +10.2% |
| 1955 | 40.2% | +3.7% |
| 1956 | 40.1% | -0.1% |
| 1957 | 39.6% | -1.3% |
| 1958 | 39.7% | +0.2% |
| 1959 | 38.7% | -2.6% |
| 1960 | 38.0% | -1.8% |
| 1961 | 38.1% | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 37.9% | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 36.9% | -2.6% |
| 1966 | 37.2% | +0.9% |
| 1967 | 36.8% | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 36.2% | -1.6% |
| 1971 | 35.4% | -2.0% |
| 1974 | 35.0% | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 35.1% | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 35.3% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 35.1% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 34.6% | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 33.1% | -4.2% |
| 1980 | 32.4% | -2.3% |
| 1981 | 31.6% | -2.5% |
| 1982 | 30.9% | -2.2% |
| 1983 | 36.1% | +17.1% |
| 1984 | 34.2% | -5.3% |
| 1985 | 35.7% | +4.2% |
| 1986 | 36.0% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 35.4% | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 36.3% | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 36.3% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 34.4% | -5.3% |
| 1991 | 35.0% | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 36.0% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 37.7% | +4.7% |
| 1994 | 39.2% | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 39.3% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 38.9% | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 39.8% | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 40.2% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 46.5% | +15.7% |
| 2012 | 56.0% | +20.4% |
| 2013 | 56.3% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 57.1% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 57.8% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 59.2% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 59.9% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 58.9% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 58.7% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 58.0% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 58.2% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 58.9% | +1.2% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 58.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 47.1%, 1.3× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 49.8% | 48.0% | 51.8% | 7 |
| 1930s | 49.2% | 47.8% | 50.4% | 10 |
| 1940s | 43.5% | 36.2% | 50.7% | 6 |
| 1950s | 38.9% | 35.2% | 40.2% | 7 |
| 1960s | 37.3% | 36.2% | 38.1% | 7 |
| 1970s | 34.8% | 33.1% | 35.4% | 7 |
| 1980s | 34.5% | 30.9% | 36.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 37.8% | 34.4% | 40.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 46.5% | 46.5% | 46.5% | 1 |
| 2010s | 58.0% | 56.0% | 59.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 58.4% | 58.0% | 58.9% | 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 2 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 income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in India?
- Income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in India was 58.9% in 2022, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 59.9% in 2017.
- What is the lowest income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.9% in 1982.
- How does India rank for income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax)?
- India ranks 11th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. 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 Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of income received by the richest 10% of the population. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.