Wealth share of the richest 1% in India

India: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 40.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
40.1%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
6th
of 215 countries
All-time high
40.1%
in 2023
All-time low
12.2%
in 1971
Years of data
58
1820–2024

Wealth share of the richest 1% in India, 1820–2024

10203040182019222024

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 India stood at 40.1%. That is the highest value across all 58 years on record.

The figure is up 32.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in India peaked at 40.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 12.2%, in 1971.

That places India 6th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1820s 21.2% 21.2% 21.2% 1
1850s 25.1% 25.1% 25.1% 1
1880s 27.3% 27.3% 27.3% 1
1900s 27.6% 27.6% 27.6% 1
1910s 17.8% 17.8% 17.8% 1
1920s 27.6% 27.6% 27.6% 1
1930s 21.0% 21.0% 21.0% 1
1940s 26.0% 26.0% 26.0% 1
1950s 13.5% 13.5% 13.5% 1
1960s 13.6% 12.9% 14.3% 2
1970s 13.2% 12.2% 14.2% 2
1980s 13.9% 12.5% 15.6% 10
1990s 17.2% 15.7% 19.4% 10
2000s 27.2% 20.7% 34.0% 10
2010s 33.1% 30.4% 37.4% 10
2020s 38.9% 35.2% 40.1% 5

Countries ranked near India

  1. 3 Eswatini 44.9% compare
  2. 4 Uruguay 40.5% compare
  3. 5 Iraq 40.4% compare
  4. 7 Namibia 40.0% compare
  5. 8 Mexico 39.8% compare
  6. 9 Chile 39.6% compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is wealth share of the richest 1% in India?
Wealth share of the richest 1% in India was 40.1% 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 India?
The highest recorded value was 40.1% in 2023.
What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 12.2% in 1971.
How does India rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
India ranks 6th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 32.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this India 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 58 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Wealth share of the richest 1%
Unit
%
Source
World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 10,553 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed

The 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.