Countries by Income Gap (Rich vs Poor)
Complete ranking of 37 countries • Factor of lowest income quintile • Updated 2026
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About Income Gap (Rich vs Poor) Rankings
Costa Rica leads all 37 countries in Income Gap (Rich vs Poor) with a value of 12.27 Factor of lowest income quintile, while Slovakia ranks last at 3.46 Factor of lowest income quintile. This represents a 4-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Income Gap (Rich vs Poor) Measures
Ratio comparing higher and lower household incomes; higher values mean a wider income gap, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Income Gap (Rich vs Poor) 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 3.46 Factor of lowest income quintile (Slovakia) to 12.27 Factor of lowest income quintile (Costa Rica) — a 4-fold difference across 37 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries dominate this ranking, holding 10 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 4.15 Factor of lowest income quintile to 6.23 Factor of lowest income quintile. The overall spread from 3.46 Factor of lowest income quintile to 12.27 Factor of lowest income quintile reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
Costa Rica holds a significant lead over Chile, with a 21% gap between first and second place. While several countries cluster near the top, the leader's margin is notable. The bottom five countries are all from Europe, pointing to regional challenges that affect income gap (rich vs poor) across the continent.
Continental Leaders
Highest Income Gap (Rich vs Poor)
The 5 strongest Income Gap (Rich vs Poor) reads.
Lowest Income Gap (Rich vs Poor)
The 5 lowest Income Gap (Rich vs Poor) reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD How's Life / Well-Being, covering 37 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 | Costa Rica | 12.27 vs bottom 20% | North America | 100% |
| 2nd | Chile | 10.12 vs bottom 20% | South America | 97% |
| 3rd | United States | 8.5 vs bottom 20% | North America | 95% |
| 4th | Turkey | 8.0 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 92% |
| 5th | Mexico | 7.8 vs bottom 20% | North America | 89% |
| 6th | United Kingdom | 6.7 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 86% |
| 7th | Lithuania | 6.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 84% |
| 8th | Japan | 6.4 vs bottom 20% | Asia | 81% |
| 9th | Israel | 6.3 vs bottom 20% | Asia | 78% |
| 10th | Latvia | 6.2 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 76% |
| 11th | South Korea | 5.8 vs bottom 20% | Asia | 73% |
| 12th | Australia | 5.6 vs bottom 20% | Oceania | 70% |
| 13th | Estonia | 5.6 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 68% |
| 14th | New Zealand | 5.5 vs bottom 20% | Oceania | 65% |
| 15th | Spain | 5.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 62% |
| 16th | Portugal | 5.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 59% |
| 17th | Italy | 5.4 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 57% |
| 18th | Greece | 5.2 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 54% |
| 19th | Germany | 5.1 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 51% |
| 20th | Canada | 5.0 vs bottom 20% | North America | 49% |
| 21st | Switzerland | 5.0 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 46% |
| 22nd | Hungary | 4.7 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 43% |
| 23rd | Luxembourg | 4.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 41% |
| 24th | France | 4.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 38% |
| 25th | Austria | 4.4 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 35% |
| 26th | Netherlands | 4.3 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 32% |
| 27th | Sweden | 4.3 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 30% |
| 28th | Ireland | 4.2 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 27% |
| 29th | Poland | 4.1 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 24% |
| 30th | Norway | 4.0 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 22% |
| 31st | Denmark | 4.0 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 19% |
| 32nd | Finland | 3.9 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 16% |
| 33rd | Belgium | 3.6 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 14% |
| 34th | Czechia | 3.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 11% |
| 35th | Slovenia | 3.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 8% |
| 36th | Iceland | 3.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 5% |
| 37th | Slovakia | 3.5 vs bottom 20% | Europe | 3% |