Income share of the richest 20% — all countries

Income share of the richest 20% — Guyana

Income share of the richest 20% in Guyana in 1998 — 50.1%. Ranked 36 in the world out of 54. Since 1992, the indicator has risen by 5 pp.

1998 50.1% +5 pp vs 1992
World rank 36of 54
Period maximum 50.1%1998
Period minimum 45.1%1992

Trend over time

1992–1998 · % of income

Income share of the richest 20% — Guyana, 1992–1998444648505219921993199419951996199719981992: 45.1%1998: 50.1%
Change over the period: +5 pp Annual average: 0.83 pp
Income share of the richest 20% — Guyana, by year Guyana All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
1998 50.1
1992 45.1

South America, 1998

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

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.