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What is the Gini coefficient?

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Quick answer

The Gini coefficient is a single number that measures income or wealth inequality in a group, from 0 to 1. A value of 0 means everyone has exactly equal income; 1 means one person has everything — so higher numbers mean more inequality.

Key things to understand

  1. It summarizes a whole population's inequality in one number.
  2. 0 is perfect equality; 1 is maximum inequality.
  3. Most countries fall between about 0.25 and 0.6.
  4. It allows comparing inequality between countries or over time.
  5. It doesn't show who is rich or poor, just the spread.

People also ask

What does a Gini coefficient of 0 mean?
Perfect equality — every person has exactly the same income or wealth. A value of 1 would mean a single person holds it all.
What is a typical Gini coefficient?
Most countries land roughly between 0.25 (more equal) and 0.6 (highly unequal), depending on how income is distributed.
What are the limits of the Gini coefficient?
It captures the spread in one number but doesn't reveal poverty levels, who holds the wealth, or how the middle compares to the extremes.