Countries in Europe by income inequality (gini)
The Gini index of household income or consumption: 0 if everyone had the same, 100 if one household had everything. Household surveys are rare in some countries, so figures up to ten years old are shown. 39 countries in Europe, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2023
Median country
30.6
half above, half below| # | Country | Gini | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria | 39.5 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
| 2 |  Lithuania | 36.0 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| =3 |  Italy | 34.3 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| =3 |  Montenegro | 34.3 | 2021 | Southern Europe |
| 5 |  Latvia | 34.0 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| 6 |  Portugal | 33.9 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| 7 |  Switzerland | 33.8 | 2022 | Western Europe |
| 8 |  Germany | 33.7 | 2022 | Western Europe |
| 9 |  Luxembourg | 33.6 | 2023 | Western Europe |
| 10 |  North Macedonia | 33.5 | 2019 | Southern Europe |
| =11 |  Greece | 33.4 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| =11 |  Spain | 33.4 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| 13 |  Russia | 33.0 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
| 14 |  Serbia | 32.8 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| 15 |  United Kingdom | 32.4 | 2021 | Northern Europe |
| =16 |  France | 31.8 | 2023 | Western Europe |
| =16 |  Malta | 31.8 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| 18 |  Austria | 31.2 | 2023 | Western Europe |
| 19 |  Estonia | 30.7 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| 20 |  Hungary | 30.6 | 2017 | Eastern Europe |
| 21 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 30.3 | 2021 | Southern Europe |
| 22 |  Croatia | 30.1 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| 23 |  Denmark | 29.9 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| 24 |  Romania | 29.8 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
| 25 |  Albania | 29.4 | 2020 | Southern Europe |
| 26 |  Sweden | 29.3 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| 27 |  Ireland | 29.0 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| 28 |  Poland | 28.5 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
| 29 |  Finland | 27.4 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| =30 |  Belgium | 26.8 | 2023 | Western Europe |
| =30 |  Iceland | 26.8 | 2019 | Northern Europe |
| =30 |  Moldova | 26.8 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
| 33 |  Norway | 26.5 | 2023 | Northern Europe |
| =34 |  Czechia | 25.7 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
| =34 |  Netherlands | 25.7 | 2021 | Western Europe |
| 36 |  Ukraine | 25.6 | 2020 | Eastern Europe |
| 37 |  Slovenia | 24.7 | 2023 | Southern Europe |
| 38 |  Belarus | 24.4 | 2020 | Eastern Europe |
| 39 |  Slovakia | 23.8 | 2023 | Eastern Europe |
No World Bank figure for 5 countries: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City.
Questions
- Which country in Europe has the most unequal incomes?
- Bulgaria has the most unequal incomes in Europe: a Gini index of 39.5 (2023). Next come Lithuania (a Gini index of 36.0) and Italy (a Gini index of 34.3).
- Which country in Europe has the most equal incomes?
- Slovakia, with a Gini index of 23.8 (2023).
- What is the typical income inequality (gini) of a country in Europe?
- The median of the 39 countries in Europe is a Gini index of 30.6: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
- Where do the figures come from?
- The Gini index of household income or consumption: 0 if everyone had the same, 100 if one household had everything. Household surveys are rare in some countries, so figures up to ten years old are shown. Source: World Bank, mostly 2023. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.
Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 10 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.