Malaysia vs United States: Palma ratio
Malaysia
1.93
in 2021
United States
2.03
in 2024
Malaysia rank
23rd
United States rank
21st
Palma ratio over time
- Malaysia
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 2.03 against 1.93 in Malaysia, a difference of 0.1.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times Malaysia's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 14 shared years of data; in 1984 it was Malaysia ahead.
Malaysia ranks 23rd and United States ranks 21st of 120 countries.
Malaysia has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malaysia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.76 | 1.61 | 1.15 | Malaysia |
| 1990s | 2.96 | 1.81 | 1.15 | Malaysia |
| 2000s | 2.51 | 1.97 | 0.5344 | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 2.04 | 1.98 | 0.062 | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 1.93 | 1.82 | 0.1048 | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher palma ratio, Malaysia or United States?
- United States, at 2.03 against 1.93 in Malaysia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in palma ratio between Malaysia and United States?
- 0.1, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and United States?
- 14 years are reported by both, from 1984 to 2021.
- How do Malaysia and United States rank globally for palma ratio?
- Malaysia ranks 23rd and United States ranks 21st of 120 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Palma ratio. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The Palma ratio is a measure of inequality that divides the share received by the richest 10% by the share of the poorest 40%. Higher values indicate higher inequality.