Wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia
Australia: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 23.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia, 1820–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia stood at 23.7%.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia peaked at 41.3% in 1900 and was at its lowest, 20.9%, in 1970.
Australia ranks 177th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 29.4% | — |
| 1850 | 30.8% | +4.6% |
| 1880 | 30.0% | -2.5% |
| 1900 | 41.3% | +37.7% |
| 1910 | 41.2% | -0.0% |
| 1920 | 22.1% | -46.4% |
| 1930 | 21.7% | -2.0% |
| 1940 | 22.2% | +2.6% |
| 1950 | 21.9% | -1.4% |
| 1960 | 21.0% | -4.3% |
| 1970 | 20.9% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 21.7% | +3.7% |
| 1981 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 21.8% | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 21.8% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 21.7% | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 21.7% | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 21.9% | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 21.8% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 21.9% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 21.9% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 22.0% | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 22.0% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 21.9% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 22.0% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 22.0% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 22.1% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 22.1% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 22.2% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 22.2% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 22.3% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 22.3% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 22.4% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 22.4% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 22.6% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 22.6% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 22.7% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 22.8% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 22.9% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 23.0% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 22.7% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 22.5% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 22.8% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 23.1% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 23.0% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 22.9% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 23.7% | +3.5% |
| 2022 | 23.7% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 23.5% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 23.7% | +0.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 23.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 27.5%, 86% of the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Australia's 23.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 27.2%, 87% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | -46.4% | 41.2% | 22.1% |
| 1900 | +37.7% | 30.0% | 41.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 29.4% | 29.4% | 29.4% | 1 |
| 1850s | 30.8% | 30.8% | 30.8% | 1 |
| 1880s | 30.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 1 |
| 1900s | 41.3% | 41.3% | 41.3% | 1 |
| 1910s | 41.2% | 41.2% | 41.2% | 1 |
| 1920s | 22.1% | 22.1% | 22.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 21.7% | 21.7% | 21.7% | 1 |
| 1940s | 22.2% | 22.2% | 22.2% | 1 |
| 1950s | 21.9% | 21.9% | 21.9% | 1 |
| 1960s | 21.0% | 21.0% | 21.0% | 1 |
| 1970s | 20.9% | 20.9% | 20.9% | 1 |
| 1980s | 21.7% | 21.7% | 21.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.9% | 21.7% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.3% | 22.1% | 22.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.8% | 22.5% | 23.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.5% | 22.9% | 23.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 174 Bangladesh 23.9% compare
- 174 Guinea-Bissau 23.9% compare
- 176 Serbia 23.7% compare
- 178 East Timor 23.7% compare
- 179 Afghanistan 23.6% compare
- 180 Ethiopia 23.6% compare
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in Australia was 23.7% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 41.3% in 1900.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.9% in 1970.
- How does Australia rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- Australia ranks 177th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.