Countries in South America 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. 10 countries in South America, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2024
Median country
42.7
half above, half below| # | Country | Gini | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Colombia | 54.4 | 2024 | South America |
| 2 |  Brazil | 50.3 | 2024 | South America |
| 3 |  Ecuador | 45.9 | 2025 | South America |
| 4 |  Paraguay | 44.2 | 2024 | South America |
| 5 |  Chile | 43.0 | 2024 | South America |
| 6 |  Argentina | 42.4 | 2024 | South America |
| 7 |  Bolivia | 40.9 | 2024 | South America |
| 8 |  Peru | 40.1 | 2024 | South America |
| 9 |  Uruguay | 40.0 | 2024 | South America |
| 10 |  Suriname | 39.2 | 2022 | South America |
Questions
- Which country in South America has the most unequal incomes?
- Colombia has the most unequal incomes in South America: a Gini index of 54.4 (2024). Next come Brazil (a Gini index of 50.3) and Ecuador (a Gini index of 45.9).
- Which country in South America has the most equal incomes?
- Suriname, with a Gini index of 39.2 (2022).
- What is the typical income inequality (gini) of a country in South America?
- The median of the 10 countries in South America is a Gini index of 42.7: 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 2024. 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.