Income share of the richest 20% — all countries

Income share of the richest 20% — Australia

Income share of the richest 20% in Australia in 2020 — 41.3%. Ranked 34 in the world out of 70. Since 1981, the indicator has risen by 2.1 pp.

2020 41.3% −0.5 pp vs 2018
World rank 34of 70
Period maximum 42.7%2008
Period minimum 39.2%1981

Trend over time

1981–2020 · % of income

Income share of the richest 20% — Australia, 1981–20203940414243198119851989199319972001200520092013201720201981: 39.2%1985: 40.2%1989: 40.6%1995: 40.4%2001: 40.9%2003: 40.9%2004: 40.9%2008: 42.7%2010: 42%2014: 42.2%2016: 41.1%2018: 41.8%2020: 41.3%
Change over the period: +2.1 pp Annual average: 0.05 pp
Income share of the richest 20% — Australia, by year Australia All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2020 41.3 —
2018 41.8 —
2016 41.1 —
2014 42.2 —
2010 42 —
2008 42.7 —
2004 40.9 +0 pp
2003 40.9 —
2001 40.9 —
1995 40.4 —
1989 40.6 —
1985 40.2 —
1981 39.2 —

About the indicator

The share of total income or consumption that goes to the richest twenty percent of the population. Under complete equality it would be twenty percent; in the most unequal countries of Latin America and Southern Africa it comes to more than sixty. The ratio of this share to the share of the poorest quintile — the quintile ratio, S80/S20 — was historically the first measure of inequality, and it speaks more clearly than the Gini index about the gap between the poles.

Important: There are no aggregates for country groups for the same reason as with the Gini index: the quintile of a group is not a union of national quintiles. Household surveys systematically understate the incomes of the richest, so real inequality is higher than measured.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.