It Up feature shows how income inequality differs in various countries compared to the United States.

CLEAR IT UP

How does economic inequality vary around the world?
The U.S. economy has a relatively high degree of income inequality by global standards. As Table 15.7 shows, based

on a variety of national surveys for a selection of years in the second decade of this century, the U.S. economy has

greater inequality than Germany (along with most Western European countries). The region of the world with the

highest level of income inequality is Latin America, illustrated in the numbers for Brazil and Mexico. The level of

inequality in the United States is higher than in some of the low-income countries of the world, like India and

Nigeria, as well as in some middle-income countries, like China and Russia.

Country

Survey Year First Quintile Second Quintile Third Quintile Fourth Quintile Fifth Quintile

United States

2020

Germany

2016

3.0%

7.6%

8.1%

12.8%

14.0%

17.1%
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