Globalization
Charted: Income Distributions in 16 Different Countries
Charting Income Distributions in 16 Different Countries
Throughout the 19th century, roughly 80% of the global population lived in what weโd now consider extreme poverty.
And as earnings and living conditions have improved dramatically since then, they haven’t done so evenly across the world. There are still vast income gaps, both between different countries and within them.
To highlight these global income discrepancies, this chart by Ruben Berge Mathisen shows income distributions around the world, using 2021 income data from the World Inequality Database (WID) on a per adult basis.
Global Income Distributions
This graphic shows the adult income distributions of 16 different countries in U.S. dollars, along with the world average.
On a global scale, adults making an annual income greater than $124,720 make it into the 99th percentile, meaning they make more than 99% of the worldwide population.
However, things change when you zoom in on specific countries. Hereโs a look at all the countries on the list, and how much annual income is needed (at minimum) to be in the top 1%:
Region | Country | Adult income (2021, 99th percentile) |
---|---|---|
North America | ๐บ๐ธ United States | $336,953.19 |
North America | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $193,035.55 |
North America | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | $130,388.19 |
South America | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | $115,257.86 |
South America | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | $97,500.37 |
South America | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | $94,794.89 |
Asia | ๐จ๐ณ China | $99,095.34 |
Asia | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | $65,370.51 |
Asia | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | $85,176.35 |
Europe | ๐ท๐บ Russia | $124,805.86 |
Europe | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | $212,106.53 |
Europe | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | $162,547.56 |
Africa | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | $53,144.36 |
Africa | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | $24,295.66 |
Africa | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | $115,546.44 |
Oceania | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $164,773.40 |
๐ World | $124,719.60 |
People in Americaโs top 1% make at least $336,953 in annual pre-tax income. That’s more than $100,000 above the 1% of next closest countries, Germany ($212,107) and Canada ($193,036).
On the flip side, adults in Ethiopia only need to make $24,297 to fall into the countryโs 99th percentile. Ethiopia is one of the poorest nations in the worldโaccording to estimates by the World Bank, about 27% of Ethiopiaโs population is thought to be currently living under the poverty line.
Income Gaps Within Countries
It is also noticeable how much income varies within each country.
One example is Colombia, which has one of the largest wealth gaps of any country on the list. The 99th percentile in Colombia is making an annual income thatโs 192x higher than its 10th percentile. In contrast, an income in the 99th percentile in the United States is 83x higher than the 10th percentile.
Colombiaโs high level of income inequality stems from early childhood disadvantages, such as lack of access to education, which can limit opportunities later on in life.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Globalization
Ranked: The Worldโs Most and Least Powerful Passports in 2023
How strong is your passport? This ranking showcases the most and least powerful passports based on their ease of access to countries globally.

Ranked: The Worldโs Most and Least Powerful Passports
Depending on your passport, travel can be as simple as just booking flights, finding a hotel, and, then simply going.
But for many across the world, it’s not that easyโa number of passport holders need to obtain a travel/tourist visa prior to arrival. These visas typically require approval from the destination country’s government that can take weeks or months.
Japanese passport holders, for example, are able to visit 193 countries without pre-approval (nearly every country on Earth). Afghans, on the other hand, can only visit 27 countries with the same level of ease.
This ranking uses data from Henley & Partners, which determines the number of countries to which a passport holder has visa-free access.
The World’s Passports
First let’s look at every country’s position in the ranking in the table below:
Rank | Passport | Number of Countries Allowing Visa-Free Access |
---|---|---|
#1 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 193 |
#1 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | 193 |
#3 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 192 |
#4 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 191 |
#4 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | 191 |
#6 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | 190 |
#6 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | 190 |
#6 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | 190 |
#9 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | 189 |
#9 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | 189 |
#9 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | 189 |
#9 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | 189 |
#13 | ๐ซ๐ท France | 188 |
#13 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | 188 |
#13 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | 188 |
#13 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 188 |
#17 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | 187 |
#17 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | 187 |
#17 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | 187 |
#17 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 187 |
#17 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | 187 |
#17 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 187 |
#23 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 186 |
#23 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 186 |
#23 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | 186 |
#23 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | 186 |
#27 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | 185 |
#27 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | 185 |
#29 | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | 184 |
#29 | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | 184 |
#31 | ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | 183 |
#31 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | 183 |
#33 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | 182 |
#34 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | 181 |
#35 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | 180 |
#36 | ๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein | 179 |
#37 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | 178 |
#37 | ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | 178 |
#39 | ๐ท๐ด Romania | 176 |
#40 | ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | 175 |
#40 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | 175 |
#40 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | 175 |
#40 | ๐ฒ๐จ Monaco | 175 |
#44 | ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong (SAR China) | 172 |
#45 | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | 171 |
#46 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | 170 |
#46 | ๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino | 170 |
#48 | ๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra | 169 |
#49 | ๐ง๐ณ Brunei | 167 |
#50 | ๐ง๐ง Barbados | 162 |
#51 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | 160 |
#51 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 160 |
#53 | ๐ฐ๐ณ St. Kitts and Nevis | 156 |
#54 | ๐ง๐ธ Bahamas | 155 |
#55 | ๐ป๐ฆ Vatican City | 154 |
#56 | ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles | 153 |
#56 | ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | 153 |
#58 | ๐ป๐จ St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 151 |
#59 | ๐ฆ๐ฌ Antigua and Barbuda | 150 |
#59 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | 150 |
#59 | ๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago | 150 |
#62 | ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius | 146 |
#63 | ๐ฑ๐จ St. Lucia | 146 |
#63 | ๐น๐ผ Taiwan | 146 |
#65 | ๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada | 145 |
#66 | ๐ฉ๐ฒ Dominica | 144 |
#66 | ๐ฒ๐ด Macao (SAR China) | 144 |
#66 | ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | 144 |
#69 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | 143 |
#70 | ๐ต๐พ Paraguay | 141 |
#71 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | 137 |
#72 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | 136 |
#73 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | 133 |
#73 | ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | 133 |
#73 | ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras | 133 |
#76 | ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | 132 |
#77 | ๐ผ๐ธ Samoa | 131 |
#77 | ๐ธ๐ง Solomon Islands | 131 |
#79 | ๐น๐ด Tonga | 129 |
#80 | ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | 128 |
#81 | ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua | 127 |
#81 | ๐น๐ป Tuvalu | 127 |
#83 | ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia | 125 |
#84 | ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | 124 |
#85 | ๐ฐ๐ฎ Kiribati | 123 |
#86 | ๐ฒ๐ญ Marshall Islands | 122 |
#87 | ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | 120 |
#88 | ๐ต๐ผ Palau Islands | 119 |
#89 | ๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina | 118 |
#89 | ๐ซ๐ฒ Micronesia | 118 |
#89 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 118 |
#92 | ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | 115 |
#92 | ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | 115 |
#94 | ๐น๐ท Tรผrkiye | 111 |
#95 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 106 |
#96 | ๐ง๐ฟ Belize | 102 |
#97 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | 100 |
#98 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | 97 |
#98 | ๐ป๐บ Vanuatu | 97 |
#100 | ๐น๐ฑ Timor-Leste | 94 |
#101 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | 92 |
#102 | ๐ฒ๐ป Maldives | 89 |
#102 | ๐ณ๐ท Nauru | 89 |
#104 | ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | 87 |
#104 | ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji | 87 |
#104 | ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana | 87 |
#107 | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | 86 |
#107 | ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica | 86 |
#109 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | 82 |
#109 | ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea | 82 |
#109 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 82 |
#112 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 81 |
#113 | ๐ง๐พ Belarus | 79 |
#113 | ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | 79 |
#113 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | 79 |
#116 | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | 78 |
#117 | ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho | 77 |
#117 | ๐ธ๐ท Suriname | 77 |
#119 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | 75 |
#120 | ๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini | 74 |
#121 | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | 73 |
#122 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 72 |
#122 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | 72 |
#124 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | 71 |
#124 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | 71 |
#126 | ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | 70 |
#126 | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | 70 |
#128 | ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | 69 |
#129 | ๐ฌ๐ฒ The Gambia | 68 |
#130 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | 67 |
#131 | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | 66 |
#132 | ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | 65 |
#132 | ๐จ๐ป Cape Verde Islands | 65 |
#132 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | 65 |
#132 | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | 65 |
#136 | ๐จ๐บ Cuba | 64 |
#136 | ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | 64 |
#136 | ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | 64 |
#139 | ๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan | 63 |
#140 | ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | 61 |
#140 | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | 61 |
#142 | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | 60 |
#142 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 60 |
#142 | ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda | 60 |
#145 | ๐ธ๐น Sao Tome and Principe | 59 |
#145 | ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | 59 |
#145 | ๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan | 59 |
#148 | ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania | 58 |
#149 | ๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso | 57 |
#150 | ๐จ๐ฎ Cote d'Ivoire | 56 |
#150 | ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | 56 |
#150 | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | 56 |
#153 | ๐ฌ๐ถ Equatorial Guinea | 55 |
#153 | ๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea | 55 |
#153 | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | 55 |
#156 | ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | 54 |
#156 | ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar | 54 |
#156 | ๐น๐ฌ Togo | 54 |
#159 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | 53 |
#159 | ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | 53 |
#159 | ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | 53 |
#159 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | 53 |
#163 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | 52 |
#163 | ๐ง๐น Bhutan | 52 |
#163 | ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic | 52 |
#163 | ๐น๐ฉ Chad | 52 |
#163 | ๐ฐ๐ฒ Comoros | 52 |
#163 | ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea-Bissau | 52 |
#163 | ๐น๐ฒ Turkmenistan | 52 |
#170 | ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | 51 |
#171 | ๐ฆ๐ด Angola | 50 |
#171 | ๐ฑ๐ฆ Laos | 50 |
#173 | ๐ง๐ฎ Burundi | 49 |
#173 | ๐จ๐ฌ Congo (Rep.) | 49 |
#173 | ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia | 49 |
#176 | ๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti | 48 |
#176 | ๐ญ๐น Haiti | 48 |
#178 | ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | 47 |
#179 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | 46 |
#179 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | 46 |
#181 | ๐ช๐ท Eritrea | 44 |
#181 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | 44 |
#181 | ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | 44 |
#184 | ๐จ๐ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo | 42 |
#184 | ๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan | 42 |
#186 | ๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo | 41 |
#186 | ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | 41 |
#186 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | 41 |
#189 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | 40 |
#189 | ๐ฑ๐พ Libya | 40 |
#189 | ๐ฐ๐ต North Korea | 40 |
#192 | ๐ต๐ธ Palestine | 38 |
#193 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | 37 |
#194 | ๐ธ๐ด Somalia | 35 |
#195 | ๐พ๐ช Yemen | 34 |
#196 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | 32 |
#197 | ๐ธ๐พ Syria | 30 |
#198 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | 29 |
#199 | Afghanistan | 27 |
Visas are imposed by some countries to make it easier to track visitors, allowing a country to assess whether said passport-holder may be a risk for illegal immigration, crime, acts of terror, or covert surveillance.
For example, both Russia and China require American passport holders to obtain visas prior to travel, and vice versa.
The Most Powerful Passports
When it comes to the most powerful passports, most of the top 20 are issued by countries in Asia or Europe, with the exception of New Zealand and the United States.
Due to multiple ties in the rankings the U.S. technically ranks 17th, having visa-free access to 187 countries, on par with Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
Ranking 66th, Ukraine’s passport has actually seen drastic improvement over the last decade, currently getting visa-free access to 144 countries. It has yet to be seen how this will change in the wake of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
The Least Powerful Passports
Many of least powerful passports come out of war-torn and politically unstable nations. As visas for travel are typically required to counter illicit activity, these nations are often flagged whether justly or not.
One immediate standout among the least powerful passports is North Korea. The insular nation has visa-freeย access to 40 countries, ranking it above eight other passports on the list.
Most North Koreans who travel abroad do so only in extremely special circumstances for work, study, or athletic competitions. Leisure travel out of North Korea does not happen, but technically, North Koreans can visitย countries like Haiti, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Palestine, and Kyrgyzstan, among others without a visa.
The Biggest Gainers & Losers Over Time
From a big picture standpoint, the world’s travelers have seen their access improve significantly over the last 10 years. If you’re a citizen of the UAE, for example, your prospects for visa-free travel have improved by 100+ countriesย over the last decade.
Here’s a closer look at 15 countries with the greatest change in visa-free access:
Rank | Country | 2013 Visa-Free Access | 2023 Visa-Free Access | 10 Year Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | 72 | 178 | +106 |
#2 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | 63 | 133 | +70 |
#3 | ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | 77 | 144 | +67 |
#4 | ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | 59 | 120 | +61 |
#5 | ๐ป๐จ St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 92 | 151 | +59 |
#6 | ๐ฉ๐ฒ Dominica | 87 | 144 | +57 |
#6 | ๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada | 88 | 145 | +57 |
#8 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | 80 | 136 | +56 |
#9 | ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | 60 | 115 | +55 |
#10 | ๐ฑ๐จ St. Lucia | 94 | 146 | +52 |
#11 | ๐ผ๐ธ Samoa | 81 | 131 | +50 |
#11 | ๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago | 100 | 150 | +50 |
#13 | ๐น๐ด Tonga | 80 | 129 | +49 |
#14 | ๐ธ๐ง Solomon Islands | 84 | 131 | +47 |
#15 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | 129 | 175 | +46 |
On the other hand, other countries have fared poorly, with some actually losing access to destinations since 2013. Yemen and Syria are tied for first place, having lost visa-free access to nine countries over the last 10 years.
Here’s a look at 15 countries who experienced the biggest negative change:
Rank | Country | 2013 Visa-Free Access | 2023 Visa-Free Access | 10 Year Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐พ๐ช Yemen | 43 | 34 | -9 |
#1 | ๐ธ๐พ Syria | 39 | 30 | -9 |
#3 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | 48 | 46 | -2 |
#3 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | 31 | 29 | -2 |
#5 | ๐ฐ๐ต North Korea | 41 | 40 | -1 |
#5 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | 41 | 40 | -1 |
#5 | ๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan | 28 | 27 | -1 |
#8 | ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | 128 | 128 | 0 |
#8 | ๐ฌ๐ฒ The Gambia | 68 | 68 | 0 |
#8 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | 32 | 32 | 0 |
#8 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | 53 | 53 | 0 |
#8 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | 37 | 37 | 0 |
#8 | ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | 53 | 53 | 0 |
#14 | ๐น๐ฌ Togo | 53 | 54 | +1 |
#14 | ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | 63 | 64 | +1 |
Looking at the tables above, it’s apparent that the world has generally become more open in recent years.
Overall, the power of a passport is almost directly reflective of the political state of the world. World powers and rich nations typically have free flow of travel, but those facing instability or war are often also face barriers when wanting to go abroad.
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