Income share of the richest 20% — all countries

Income share of the richest 20% — Lesotho

Income share of the richest 20% in Lesotho in 2017 — 49.7%. Ranked 69 in the world out of 78. Since 1986, the indicator has fallen by 10.3 pp.

2017 49.7% −5.5 pp vs 2002
World rank 69of 78
Period maximum 66.3%1994
Period minimum 49.7%2017

Trend over time

1986–2017 · % of income

Income share of the richest 20% — Lesotho, 1986–20174550556065701986199019941998200220062010201420171986: 60%1994: 66.3%2002: 55.2%2017: 49.7%
Change over the period: −10.3 pp Annual average: -0.33 pp
Income share of the richest 20% — Lesotho, by year Lesotho All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2017 49.7 —
2002 55.2 —
1994 66.3 —
1986 60 —

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.