Prosperity gap in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Prosperity gap was 0.8854 in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.8854
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
102nd
of 120 countries
All-time high
1.48
in 1969
All-time low
0.7949
in 2013
Years of data
54
1968–2021

Prosperity gap in United Kingdom, 1968–2021

00.511.5196819942021

Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 0.8854 for prosperity gap in 2021.

The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prosperity gap in United Kingdom peaked at 1.48 in 1969 and was at its lowest, 0.7949, in 2013.

United Kingdom ranks 102nd of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 1.47 1.47 1.48 2
1970s 1.37 1.26 1.48 10
1980s 1.16 1.01 1.28 10
1990s 1 0.9445 1.07 10
2000s 0.8709 0.8215 0.917 10
2010s 0.8538 0.7949 0.9307 10
2020s 0.8931 0.8854 0.9007 2

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 99 Croatia 1.06 compare
  2. 100 Estonia 1.02 compare
  3. 101 Poland 0.9354 compare
  4. 103 Czechia 0.826 compare
  5. 104 Austria 0.8107 compare
  6. 105 Denmark 0.7729 compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is prosperity gap in United Kingdom?
Prosperity gap in United Kingdom was 0.8854 in 2021, 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 United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 1.48 in 1969.
What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 0.7949 in 2013.
How does United Kingdom rank for prosperity gap?
United Kingdom ranks 102nd out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
Is prosperity gap rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Prosperity gap
Source
World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed

Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.