Income Inequality In India Statistics

Income inequality in india refers to the unequal distribution of wealth and income among its citizens.

Income inequality in india statistics. Based on the new india human development survey ihds which provides data on income inequality for the first time india scores a level of income equality lower than russia the united states china and brazil and more egalitarian than only south africa. Extreme inequality in numbers chhatiya is a young mother who lives in an urban slum in patna in northeast india. Wealth distribution is also uneven with one report estimating that 54 percent of the country s wealth is controlled by millionaires. With her husband they were forced into debt to pay private healthcare fees for their new born son when the public clinic was unable to provide the care he needed.

Last year s survey had showed that india s richest 1 held 58 of the country s total wealth which was higher than the. The gini coefficient for wealth based on the all india debt and investment surveys aidis was 0 75 for 2012 rising from 0 67 in 2002 figure 2. Open access high quality wealth and income inequality data developed by an international academic consortium. Current income inequality in india is higher than during pre independence period.

India is no stranger to income inequality but the gap is widening further. This holds true from the creation of the income tax in 1922 to independence in 1947 when comparing the top 1 share of national income but also for the pre 1922 period. In the recent years india has joined the club of most unequal countries. According to the cia world factbook the gini index of india which is a measure of income distribution inequality was 35 2 in 2011 ranking 95 th out of 157.

Analysis of income inequality in india. Income inequality has reached historically high levels in india since the 1980s when economic and trade liberalisation began in the country with the top ten percent of the population. Wealth data points to much higher levels of inequality than either consumption or income data.