World Inequality Report 2026: Key Findings, India Highlights & Global Trends

The 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.

Written against a backdrop of weakening multilateralism and widening social divides, the 2026 report underscores how inequality continues to deepen across income, wealth, gender, geography, and even climate impact.

Global Wealth Inequality: Concentration at the Very Top

One of the most striking findings is the enormous concentration of wealth among the ultra-rich:

• 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 ~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, more than 18 times the wealth of the bottom half of humanity.

The top one-in-a-million group collectively holds 3% of global wealth, while the top one-in-100 million (only 56 people worldwide) have average wealth of €53 billion each.

These numbers highlight how the inequality problem extends not only between the rich and poor but within the top income brackets themselves.

India: Among the Most Unequal Countries

The report places India among the world’s most unequal economies:

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 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%, with no improvement in the past decade.
• This reflects persistent gendered barriers in employment and wages.

Average income and wealth levels 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 compares global distribution in 1980 vs. 2025:

1980

• Global elite concentrated in Europe, North America & 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:

1. Earlier, a significant portion was in the middle 40%.
2. Today, almost all are in the bottom 50%.

• Sub-Saharan Africa remains in the lower half.

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

Gender Inequality: A Persistent Global Issue

The gender pay and labour gap remains pronounced:

• Excluding unpaid work, women earn 61% of what men earn per working hour.
• Including unpaid labour, women’s income drops to 32% of men’s.
• Women capture just over 25% of total global labour income — nearly unchanged since 1990.

Regional Breakdown of Women’s Share in Labour Income

• Middle East & North Africa: 16%
• South & Southeast Asia: 20%
• Sub-Saharan Africa: 28%
• East Asia: 34%
• Europe, North America & Oceania: ~40%

Despite progress in education and employment, gender inequality remains a global reality.

Climate Inequality: Emissions and Wealth

The report introduces a crucial inequality dimension — carbon inequality:

• 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 — nearly double the bottom 90%.

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

Why Inequality Persists: Taxation Gaps and Policy Failures

The report highlights policy-driven factors deepening inequality:

• 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

• Progressive taxation on income and wealth
• Strengthened financial transparency
• Higher public investment in:

1. Education
2. Universal healthcare
3. Childcare and nutrition

• Redistributive programmes such as:

1. Cash transfers
2. Pensions
3. Unemployment benefits

These steps can narrow inequality and support inclusive growth.