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Charted: Income Distributions in 16 Different Countries

Published

2 years ago

November 25, 2022

Ruben Berge Mathisen

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Carmen Ang

different income distributions worldwide

Charting Income Distributions in 16 Different Countries

Throughout the 19th century, roughly 80% of the global population lived in what we’d 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. Here’s 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	🇺🇸 United States	$336,953.19
North America	🇨🇦 Canada	$193,035.55
North America	🇲🇽 Mexico	$130,388.19
South America	🇧🇷 Brazil	$115,257.86
South America	🇨🇴 Colombia	$97,500.37
South America	🇦🇷 Argentina	$94,794.89
Asia	🇨🇳 China	$99,095.34
Asia	🇮🇳 India	$65,370.51
Asia	🇮🇩 Indonesia	$85,176.35
Europe	🇷🇺 Russia	$124,805.86
Europe	🇩🇪 Germany	$212,106.53
Europe	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	$162,547.56
Africa	🇳🇬 Nigeria	$53,144.36
Africa	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	$24,295.66
Africa	🇪🇬 Egypt	$115,546.44
Oceania	🇦🇺 Australia	$164,773.40
	🌎 World	$124,719.60

People in America’s 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 country’s 99th percentile. Ethiopia is one of the poorest nations in the world—according to estimates by the World Bank, about 27% of Ethiopia’s 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 that’s 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.

Colombia’s 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.

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How America’s Poverty Rates Differ by Race

This chart shows how poverty rates in America swing between 10–20% when accounting for race.

Published

1 day ago

October 12, 2024

Pallavi Rao

This cropped chart lists the rate and number of Americans below the poverty level, categorized by self-selected race.

Charted: How America’s Poverty Rates Differ by Race

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The U.S. poverty rate stands at 12%, affecting about 41 million people across the country. At the state level, this rate ranges from 7% to 18%, depending on local economic conditions. But how does poverty differ when examined through the lens of racial demographics?

This chart visualizes the percentage and number of Americans living below the poverty threshold, categorized by race, based on data from the American Community Survey 2022 conducted by the Census Bureau. It focuses on respondents who selected a single race.

ℹ️ The Census Bureau sets poverty thresholds based on family size and composition. For families with incomes below these thresholds, every individual in the family is considered in poverty.

Racial Disparities in Poverty

The data reveals distinct differences in poverty rates among racial groups, reflecting the complex social and economic dynamics that have evolved over generations.

Race	% Below Poverty Level	# Below Poverty Level
American Indian/Alaska Native	21.7%	675,913
African American	21.3%	8,317,088
Other*	17.9%	4,303,587
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	17.6%	113,693
Asian	10.1%	1,937,553
White	9.9%	19,544,155

*Hispanic/Latino populations usually select “other race” in census surveys. Figures rounded.

While poverty exists across all racial groups, there are some significant variations in both the rates and total numbers. These disparities reflect a combination of historical factors, structural inequalities, and ongoing challenges unique to different communities.

Native and Black Americans Face Higher Poverty Rates

Both Native Americans and Black Americans have the highest poverty rates, with about one in five individuals from these groups living below the poverty line. These groups are considered “overrepresented” in poverty statistics, meaning their share in poverty exceeds their proportion of the total U.S. population.

Long-standing issues have created cycles of poverty that, despite some progress, remain challenging to overcome in the face of ongoing systemic inequalities.

Other racial groups also grapple with poverty as well. There are 19.5 million white Americans below the poverty line. Although the rate is lower, about one-in-ten, the absolute number of people below the poverty threshold is the largest of all groups.

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The U.S. also falls behind its peers when it comes to government support to help socio-economic mobility. Check out Hours of Work Needed to Escape Poverty to see how it measures up against other high income economies.