World Inequality Report 2026: Insights, India-Specific Highlights and Worldwide Trends

World Inequality Report 2026, released by the World Inequality Lab and edited by economists Lucas Chancel, Ricardo Gómez-Carrera, Rowaida Moshrif, and Thomas Piketty, reveals a stark picture of rising global inequality. Despite global wealth reaching historic highs, its distribution remains deeply imbalanced, with a tiny global elite holding a disproportionate share. The report underscores how inequality continues to deepen across income, wealth, gender, geography, and even climate impact.

World Inequality Report 2026 Overview

The World Inequality Report 2026 from World Inequality Lab shows high global gaps in money, wealth, gender, and climate effects. It notes the top 0.001% own three times more wealth than the bottom 50% of people. India ranks high in inequality, with the top 10% taking 58% income and 65% wealth.​

Global Wealth Inequality: Concentration at Top

The World Inequality Report 2025 highlights the significant concentration of wealth among the ultra-rich. This section details the extent of this imbalance.

• The top 0.001% (fewer than 60,000 individuals) now own three times more wealth than the bottom 50% of the world population combined.

• Their wealth share has risen from approximately 4% in 1995 to over 6% in 2025.

• The global top 10% controls 75% of total wealth, while the bottom 50% holds just 2%.

• The top 1% alone controls 37% of global wealth.

• The top one-in-a-million group collectively holds 3% of global wealth.

• The top one-in-100 million (only 56 people worldwide) have average wealth of €53 billion each.

India: Most Unequal Countries

The World Inequality Report 2025 identifies India as one of the world's most unequal economies. This section presents key data on income, wealth, and gender disparities within India.

Income Inequality

• The top 10% in India capture 58% of national income.

• The bottom 50% receives only 15%.

• In 2021 (WIR 2022), these shares were 57% and 13%, indicating a growing disparity.

Wealth Inequality

• The richest 10% own 65% of total wealth.

• The top 1% alone holds 40% of wealth.

Low Female Labour Participation

• Female labour participation remains extremely low at 15.7%.

• This reflects persistent gendered barriers in employment and wages.

Average income and wealth levels in India remain modest:

• Average annual income per capita: €6,200 (PPP)

• Average wealth per adult: €28,000 (PPP)

The report concludes that inequality in India is "deeply entrenched" across income, wealth, and gender, highlighting structural challenges in the economy.

Global Income Patterns: Then and Now (1980–2025)

The report provides a comparative analysis of global income distribution patterns between 1980 and 2025. This shows significant shifts in economic standing across regions.

1980

• The global elite was concentrated in Europe, North America, and Oceania.

• China and India were almost entirely in the bottom half of the global distribution.

• Sub-Saharan Africa was heavily concentrated in the lowest percentiles.

2025

• China has moved upward, with much of its population now in the middle 40% and a section entering upper-middle ranks.

• India has lost relative ground.

• Earlier, a significant portion of its population was in the middle 40%.

• Today, almost all are in the bottom 50%.

• Sub-Saharan Africa remains largely in the lower half.

These changes indicate shifting global economic structures but also highlight widening gaps within and across countries.

Gender Inequality: Persistent Global Issue

Gender inequality in income and labor participation remains a significant global challenge, as detailed in the World Inequality Report 2025. This section presents statistics on the gender pay gap.

• Excluding unpaid work, women earn 61% of what men earn per working hour.

• Including unpaid labor, women’s income drops to 32% of men’s.

• Women capture just over 25% of total global labor income.

This disparity is evident across various regions, with some areas showing significantly lower participation rates for women. The table below outlines the regional breakdown of women's share in labor income.

Climate Inequality: Emissions and Wealth

The World Inequality Report 2025 introduces carbon inequality as a crucial dimension of global disparities. This section highlights the unequal distribution of responsibility for emissions.

• The poorest 50% of the world population contributes only 3% of emissions linked to private capital ownership.

• The top 10% is responsible for 77% of such emissions.

• The wealthiest 1% accounts for 41% of emissions.

This data shows how climate responsibility is heavily skewed toward the rich, intensifying debates on climate justice.

Inequality Persists: Taxation Gaps and Policy Failures

The report emphasizes that policy-driven factors significantly contribute to deepening global inequality. This section discusses how taxation gaps and policy failures exacerbate the problem.

• Effective tax rates rise for most people but fall sharply for billionaires and centi-millionaires.

• The ultra-rich often escape taxation through loopholes, depriving governments of revenue for public goods.

• This creates a regressive system, where the wealthy pay proportionally less than poorer households.

Needed Policy Actions

The World Inequality Report 2025 suggests several policy interventions to address persistent inequality.

• Progressive taxation on income and wealth.

• Strengthened financial transparency.

• Higher public investment in:

• Education

• Universal healthcare

• Childcare and nutrition

• Redistributive programs such as:

• Cash transfers

• Pensions

• Unemployment benefits