Prosperity gap in Canada
Canada: Prosperity gap was 0.6536 in 2022. ▼ Falling
Prosperity gap in Canada, 1971–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Canada recorded 0.6536 for prosperity gap in 2022.
The figure is up 5.9% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prosperity gap in Canada peaked at 2.56 in 1971 and was at its lowest, 0.5065, in 2020.
That places Canada 111th out of 120 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 46 years of available data.
Prosperity gap in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 2.56 | — |
| 1973 | 2.19 | -14.3% |
| 1975 | 2.01 | -8.3% |
| 1977 | 1.8 | -10.5% |
| 1979 | 1.67 | -7.2% |
| 1981 | 1.37 | -18.3% |
| 1982 | 1.26 | -7.7% |
| 1984 | 1.3 | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 1.18 | -9.0% |
| 1986 | 1.63 | +38.4% |
| 1987 | 1.2 | -26.4% |
| 1988 | 1.27 | +5.8% |
| 1989 | 1.89 | +48.7% |
| 1990 | 1.73 | -8.4% |
| 1991 | 1.87 | +7.9% |
| 1992 | 1.43 | -23.5% |
| 1993 | 1.86 | +30.3% |
| 1994 | 1.54 | -17.3% |
| 1995 | 1.4 | -9.4% |
| 1996 | 0.9009 | -35.5% |
| 1997 | 0.9048 | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 0.9118 | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 0.8825 | -3.2% |
| 2000 | 0.8208 | -7.0% |
| 2001 | 0.7844 | -4.4% |
| 2002 | 0.7719 | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 0.7775 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 0.7723 | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.7615 | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7401 | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 0.6849 | -7.5% |
| 2008 | 0.6871 | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 0.704 | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 0.6656 | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 0.6488 | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 0.669 | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 0.7043 | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 0.6549 | -7.0% |
| 2015 | 0.6776 | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 0.6552 | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 0.6322 | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 0.612 | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 0.6016 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.5065 | -15.8% |
| 2021 | 0.6171 | +21.8% |
| 2022 | 0.6536 | +5.9% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 0.6536 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.08, 60% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Prosperity gap in Canada changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +48.7% | 1.27 | 1.89 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.05 | 1.67 | 2.56 | 5 |
| 1980s | 1.39 | 1.18 | 1.89 | 8 |
| 1990s | 1.34 | 0.8825 | 1.87 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7504 | 0.6849 | 0.8208 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6521 | 0.6016 | 0.7043 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5924 | 0.5065 | 0.6536 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More reference data data for Canada
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 22.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 99.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.88 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prosperity gap in Canada?
- Prosperity gap in Canada was 0.6536 in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest prosperity gap recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 2.56 in 1971.
- What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5065 in 2020.
- How does Canada rank for prosperity gap?
- Canada ranks 111th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prosperity gap rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Prosperity gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.