Countries by Earnings Inequality
Complete ranking of 38 countries • Factor of lowest earnings decile • Updated 2026
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About Earnings Inequality Rankings
Czechia leads all 38 countries in Earnings Inequality with a value of 6.48 Factor of lowest earnings decile, while Sweden ranks last at 2.21 Factor of lowest earnings decile. This represents a 3-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Earnings Inequality Measures
Gap between higher and lower earnings; higher values mean more unequal pay, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Earnings Inequality across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.
Global Range
Values range from 2.21 Factor of lowest earnings decile (Sweden) to 6.48 Factor of lowest earnings decile (Czechia) — a 3-fold difference across 38 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries dominate this ranking, holding 11 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.
Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 2.67 Factor of lowest earnings decile to 3.49 Factor of lowest earnings decile. The overall spread from 2.21 Factor of lowest earnings decile to 6.48 Factor of lowest earnings decile reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
The top of the ranking is competitive: Czechia and Colombia are separated by only 20%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data. The bottom five countries are all from Europe, pointing to regional challenges that affect earnings inequality across the continent.
Continental Leaders
Highest Earnings Inequality
The 5 strongest Earnings Inequality reads.
Lowest Earnings Inequality
The 5 lowest Earnings Inequality reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD How's Life / Well-Being, covering 38 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
Top 10 Countries
Country Ladder
| Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Czechia | 6.5 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 100% |
| 2nd | Colombia | 5.4 vs bottom 10% | North America | 97% |
| 3rd | Chile | 5.2 vs bottom 10% | South America | 95% |
| 4th | United States | 4.8 vs bottom 10% | North America | 92% |
| 5th | Israel | 4.6 vs bottom 10% | Asia | 89% |
| 6th | Latvia | 4.4 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 87% |
| 7th | Poland | 3.8 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 84% |
| 8th | Hungary | 3.7 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 82% |
| 9th | South Korea | 3.6 vs bottom 10% | Asia | 79% |
| 10th | Australia | 3.5 vs bottom 10% | Oceania | 76% |
| 11th | Estonia | 3.4 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 74% |
| 12th | Luxembourg | 3.4 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 71% |
| 13th | Ireland | 3.4 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 68% |
| 14th | Turkey | 3.4 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 66% |
| 15th | Mexico | 3.3 vs bottom 10% | North America | 63% |
| 16th | Lithuania | 3.3 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 61% |
| 17th | Canada | 3.3 vs bottom 10% | North America | 58% |
| 18th | Portugal | 3.3 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 55% |
| 19th | Slovakia | 3.2 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 53% |
| 20th | Costa Rica | 3.1 vs bottom 10% | North America | 50% |
| 21st | Austria | 3.1 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 47% |
| 22nd | Greece | 3.0 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 45% |
| 23rd | Slovenia | 3.0 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 42% |
| 24th | United Kingdom | 2.9 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 39% |
| 25th | Germany | 2.9 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 37% |
| 26th | France | 2.9 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 34% |
| 27th | Switzerland | 2.8 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 32% |
| 28th | Japan | 2.7 vs bottom 10% | Asia | 29% |
| 29th | New Zealand | 2.7 vs bottom 10% | Oceania | 26% |
| 30th | Belgium | 2.6 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 24% |
| 31st | Denmark | 2.6 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 21% |
| 32nd | Finland | 2.6 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 18% |
| 33rd | Netherlands | 2.5 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 16% |
| 34th | Spain | 2.5 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 13% |
| 35th | Iceland | 2.4 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 11% |
| 36th | Italy | 2.3 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 8% |
| 37th | Norway | 2.3 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 5% |
| 38th | Sweden | 2.2 vs bottom 10% | Europe | 3% |