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.