Income share of the richest 20% — all countries

Income share of the richest 20% — Japan

Income share of the richest 20% in Japan in 2020 — 39.4%. Ranked 24 in the world out of 70. Since 2008, the indicator has fallen by 1.7 pp.

2020 39.4% −0.5 pp vs 2019
World rank 24of 70
Period maximum 41.1%2008
Period minimum 38.6%2015

Trend over time

2008–2020 · % of income

Income share of the richest 20% — Japan, 2008–2020383940414220082010201220142016201820202008: 41.1%2009: 40.1%2010: 38.9%2011: 40.1%2012: 39.8%2013: 38.8%2014: 39%2015: 38.6%2016: 39.2%2017: 39.2%2018: 39.9%2019: 39.9%2020: 39.4%
Change over the period: −1.7 pp Annual average: -0.14 pp
Income share of the richest 20% — Japan, by year Japan All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2020 39.4 −0.5 pp
2019 39.9 +0 pp
2018 39.9 +0.7 pp
2017 39.2 +0 pp
2016 39.2 +0.6 pp
2015 38.6 −0.4 pp
2014 39 +0.2 pp
2013 38.8 −1 pp
2012 39.8 −0.3 pp
2011 40.1 +1.2 pp
2010 38.9 −1.2 pp
2009 40.1 −1 pp
2008 41.1

Eastern Asia, 2020

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.