Palma ratio (before tax) by country
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. Inequality is measured here in terms of income before taxes and benefits.
Countries reporting
110
Highest
20.69
Colombia
Lowest
1.63
Slovakia
Median
4.34
Years covered
205
1820–2024
Data points
3,075
What the numbers show
Palma ratio (before tax) is currently reported for 110 countries. The highest value is 20.69 in Colombia; the lowest is 1.63 in Slovakia.
The median across all reporting countries is 4.34, and the mean is 5.28.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 13.
Over the past decade 44 countries rose and 63 fell. The largest increase was in Iraq (up 322.7%), and the largest decrease in Guinea-Bissau (down 59.3%).
Palma ratio (before tax): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 20.69 | 2022 | up 70.5% | rising |
| 2 | South Africa | 18.12 | 2014 | up 111.1% | rising |
| 3 | Iraq | 17.67 | 2024 | up 322.7% | volatile |
| 4 | Mexico | 13.46 | 2022 | down 38.0% | falling |
| 5 | Chile | 13.27 | 2022 | down 28.5% | rising |
| 6 | Botswana | 12.76 | 2015 | down 31.9% | falling |
| 7 | Costa Rica | 11.65 | 2022 | up 15.6% | rising |
| 8 | Brazil | 11.51 | 2022 | up 33.8% | rising |
| 9 | Peru | 11.29 | 2022 | up 12.0% | falling |
| 10 | Zambia | 10.36 | 2022 | down 3.2% | rising |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 10.09 | 2019 | up 48.2% | rising |
| 12 | Mozambique | 9.44 | 2022 | down 23.2% | flat |
| 13 | El Salvador | 9.08 | 2022 | down 29.5% | falling |
| 14 | Palestine | 8.39 | 2023 | up 25.8% | rising |
| 15 | Ecuador | 8.23 | 2022 | down 2.7% | falling |
| 16 | Thailand | 7.9 | 2021 | up 11.6% | falling |
| 17 | Saudi Arabia | 7.75 | 2011 | — | rising |
| 18 | Dominican Republic | 7.67 | 2022 | down 47.7% | falling |
| 19 | Lebanon | 7.46 | 2024 | down 8.9% | flat |
| 20 | Taiwan | 6.98 | 2017 | down 13.7% | rising |
| 21 | Uganda | 6.74 | 2019 | down 6.2% | falling |
| 22 | Tunisia | 6.63 | 2021 | down 3.5% | falling |
| 23 | India | 6.54 | 2022 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 24 | Ghana | 6.44 | 2016 | up 1.4% | falling |
| 25 | Turkey | 6.16 | 2024 | up 18.4% | falling |
| 26 | Cameroon | 6.15 | 2021 | down 22.7% | falling |
| 27 | Tanzania | 6.08 | 2017 | up 5.5% | falling |
| 28 | Indonesia | 5.95 | 2018 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 29 | Rwanda | 5.92 | 2023 | down 23.7% | falling |
| 30 | Laos | 5.83 | 2018 | up 13.0% | rising |
| 31 | Israel | 5.82 | 2016 | down 16.8% | rising |
| 32 | Hong Kong | 5.54 | 2024 | unchanged | rising |
| 33 | Kenya | 5.49 | 2021 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 34 | United States | 5.47 | 2024 | down 1.7% | flat |
| 35 | Georgia | 5.44 | 2024 | up 14.0% | flat |
| 36 | Malawi | 5.36 | 2019 | down 31.6% | rising |
| 37 | Gambia | 5.35 | 2020 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 38 | Argentina | 5.32 | 2022 | up 15.9% | falling |
| 39 | Cambodia | 5.27 | 2014 | — | falling |
| 40 | Sri Lanka | 5.27 | 2016 | down 9.7% | rising |
| 41 | Jordan | 5.25 | 2013 | down 7.5% | flat |
| 42 | Burkina Faso | 5.08 | 2021 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 43 | Togo | 5.07 | 2021 | down 33.2% | falling |
| 44 | Burundi | 5.05 | 2020 | down 5.0% | rising |
| 45 | China | 5.02 | 2015 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 46 | Mauritius | 4.91 | 2017 | up 6.8% | falling |
| 47 | Philippines | 4.88 | 2018 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 48 | Madagascar | 4.86 | 2021 | down 25.5% | falling |
| 49 | Senegal | 4.68 | 2021 | down 16.1% | falling |
| 50 | Egypt | 4.68 | 2020 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 51 | Vietnam | 4.66 | 2018 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 52 | Mongolia | 4.6 | 2018 | down 10.0% | flat |
| 53 | Mali | 4.56 | 2021 | up 18.2% | falling |
| 54 | Uruguay | 4.47 | 2022 | up 10.8% | falling |
| 55 | Cote d'Ivoire | 4.44 | 2021 | down 29.8% | flat |
| 56 | Benin | 4.25 | 2021 | down 36.8% | falling |
| 57 | Bulgaria | 4.22 | 2023 | up 50.2% | rising |
| 58 | Romania | 4.22 | 2022 | down 1.0% | rising |
| 59 | Niger | 4.22 | 2021 | up 9.3% | falling |
| 60 | Estonia | 4.14 | 2022 | up 16.4% | flat |
| 61 | Singapore | 4.14 | 2014 | up 17.8% | rising |
| 62 | Nigeria | 4.06 | 2022 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 63 | Guinea-Bissau | 4.03 | 2021 | down 59.3% | falling |
| 64 | Iran | 3.95 | 2022 | down 29.9% | falling |
| 65 | Russia | 3.9 | 2017 | down 30.0% | volatile |
| 66 | Kyrgyzstan | 3.85 | 2019 | up 8.3% | falling |
| 67 | Kazakhstan | 3.79 | 2018 | up 0.1% | falling |
| 68 | Tajikistan | 3.73 | 2015 | down 8.0% | rising |
| 69 | Bangladesh | 3.72 | 2016 | down 18.3% | rising |
| 70 | Pakistan | 3.7 | 2018 | down 10.1% | falling |
| 71 | Montenegro | 3.66 | 2021 | down 3.8% | rising |
| 72 | Mauritania | 3.59 | 2019 | down 15.5% | falling |
| 73 | Ethiopia | 3.56 | 2021 | down 13.4% | falling |
| 74 | Canada | 3.53 | 2022 | up 4.3% | rising |
| 75 | Serbia | 3.51 | 2022 | down 28.8% | rising |
| 76 | Seychelles | 3.45 | 2018 | down 48.8% | falling |
| 77 | South Korea | 3.36 | 2022 | up 20.4% | rising |
| 78 | Australia | 3.33 | 2022 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 79 | Albania | 3.24 | 2022 | up 18.0% | rising |
| 80 | Latvia | 3.21 | 2022 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 81 | Moldova | 3.2 | 2021 | down 7.4% | rising |
| 82 | Guinea | 3.18 | 2018 | down 39.3% | falling |
| 83 | Lithuania | 3.11 | 2022 | up 1.6% | rising |
| 84 | Germany | 3.08 | 2022 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 85 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3.01 | 2015 | down 2.0% | rising |
| 86 | Poland | 2.97 | 2022 | up 7.1% | rising |
| 87 | Malaysia | 2.86 | 2022 | down 31.8% | rising |
| 89 | Croatia | 2.85 | 2022 | up 2.0% | rising |
| 90 | New Zealand | 2.75 | 2022 | up 25.6% | falling |
| 92 | United Kingdom | 2.69 | 2021 | down 4.4% | rising |
| 94 | France | 2.64 | 2022 | up 8.8% | falling |
| 95 | Portugal | 2.62 | 2022 | down 10.7% | rising |
| 96 | Greece | 2.52 | 2022 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 97 | Belgium | 2.44 | 2022 | up 8.8% | flat |
| 98 | Spain | 2.43 | 2022 | down 3.0% | falling |
| 99 | Cyprus | 2.39 | 2022 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 100 | North Macedonia | 2.35 | 2018 | down 27.6% | rising |
| 101 | Denmark | 2.33 | 2022 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 102 | Hungary | 2.27 | 2022 | up 13.2% | flat |
| 103 | Italy | 2.27 | 2015 | up 4.9% | flat |
| 104 | Finland | 2.19 | 2022 | down 0.8% | falling |
| 105 | Netherlands | 2.11 | 2022 | up 9.2% | rising |
| 106 | Switzerland | 2.11 | 2022 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 107 | Austria | 2.05 | 2017 | down 5.0% | flat |
| 108 | Slovenia | 1.92 | 2022 | down 4.9% | rising |
| 109 | Norway | 1.89 | 2022 | down 6.7% | rising |
| 110 | Sweden | 1.85 | 2022 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 111 | Iceland | 1.81 | 2016 | down 18.7% | falling |
| 112 | Czechia | 1.71 | 2022 | down 2.3% | rising |
| 113 | Slovakia | 1.63 | 2022 | down 11.9% | rising |
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. Inequality is measured here in terms of income before taxes and benefits.