World Bank has placed India among world’s Most Equal Societies. According to the World Bank, India’s Gini Index stands at 25.5, making it the fourth most equal country in the world, after the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Belarus. The Gini Index is a simple yet powerful way to understand how income, wealth or consumption is equally distributed across households or individuals in a country.
India falls into the “moderately low” inequality category, which includes Gini scores between 25 and 30. India is only a fraction away from joining the “low inequality” group, which includes countries like the Slovak Republic with a score of 24.1, Slovenia at 24.3, and Belarus at 24.4. Apart from these three, India has a better score than all the other 167 countries for which the World Bank has released data.
India’s score is much lower than China’s 35.7 and far lower than the United States, which stands at 41.8.
India’s journey towards a more equal society is reflected in its Gini Index over the years. The index was measured at 28.8 in 2011, and reached 25.5 in 2022. This steady shift shows that India has made consistent progress in combining economic growth with social equity.
