Income Inequality rises amidst Economic Growth

Income inequality was sharply reduced in the first half of the twentieth century—more precisely, between the 1920s and the 1970s—in most countries of the world, but it has been on the rise almost everywhere since the late 1970s. This is one of the major findings in the 2018 edition of the World Inequality Report, which is made available in eight languages.

While Asia led the way for global economic growth with 49 percent share of the world income, nations like China remained below the world average income per adult. Also, the share of the top one percent in major Asian economies such as China and India significantly increased since the 1980s--the period wherein they also experienced robust, albeit non-inclusive, economic growth. To date, China's economic elite has 14 percent of national income, and India's economic elite has 22 percent.

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