Income share of the richest 20% — all countries

Income share of the richest 20% — China

Income share of the richest 20% in China in 2022 — 43.7%. Ranked 46 in the world out of 73. Since 1981, the indicator has risen by 6.5 pp.

2022 43.7% +0.1 pp vs 2021
World rank 46of 73
Period maximum 49%2010
Period minimum 36.1%1984

Trend over time

1981–2022 · % of income

Income share of the richest 20% — China, 1981–2022354045501981198619911996200120062011201620211981: 37.2%1984: 36.1%1987: 37.5%1990: 40.8%1993: 42.2%1996: 42.9%1999: 45.6%2002: 47.9%2005: 47.1%2008: 48.4%2010: 49%2011: 48.1%2012: 47.8%2013: 46.3%2014: 45.8%2015: 45.4%2016: 45.3%2017: 45.9%2018: 45.4%2019: 45.3%2020: 44.7%2021: 43.6%2022: 43.7%
Change over the period: +6.5 pp Annual average: 0.16 pp
Income share of the richest 20% — China, by year China All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2022 43.7 +0.1 pp
2021 43.6 −1.1 pp
2020 44.7 −0.6 pp
2019 45.3 −0.1 pp
2018 45.4 −0.5 pp
2017 45.9 +0.6 pp
2016 45.3 −0.1 pp
2015 45.4 −0.4 pp
2014 45.8 −0.5 pp
2013 46.3 −1.5 pp
2012 47.8 −0.3 pp
2011 48.1 −0.9 pp
2010 49
2008 48.4
2005 47.1
2002 47.9
1999 45.6
1996 42.9
1993 42.2
1990 40.8
1987 37.5
1984 36.1
1981 37.2

Eastern Asia, 2022

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

MN Mongolia 39.8 CN China 43.7

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.