Gini Coefficient by Country 2026

South Africa (63.0), Namibia (59.1), Botswana (54.9), and Eswatini (54.6) have the highest income inequality.

Higher Gini scores are often driven by weaker redistribution policies, limited social safety nets, and greater income concentration among top earners.

India (25.5), Slovenia (24.7), Belarus (24.4), and Slovakia (23.8) have the lowest income inequality.

Lower Gini scores are associated with stronger social safety nets, progressive taxation, and broader access to education and economic opportunity.

The Gini coefficient and Gini index are identical terms for the same inequality measure.

International organizations like the World Bank typically use 'Gini index,' while academic literature uses 'Gini coefficient.' Both measure income inequality on a 0-1 scale.

The Gini coefficient is the standard measure of income inequality and income distribution within countries.

It quantifies economic inequality and the wealth gap by comparing actual income distribution against perfect equality, where everyone earns the same amount.

The Gini coefficient is calculated from the Lorenz curve, which graphs cumulative income share against cumulative population share.

The further the Lorenz curve bows away from the diagonal line of perfect equality, the higher the Gini coefficient and the greater the income inequality.

The Gini coefficient formula compares the area between the line of equality and the Lorenz curve to the total area under the line of equality: Gini = A / (A + B).

A simplified calculation uses: Gini = (2 × Σ(i × yi)) / (n × Σyi) - (n + 1) / n, where yi is income ranked from lowest to highest.