Wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy
Italy: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 22.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy, 1820–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy is 22.0%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy peaked at 45.7% in 1905 and was at its lowest, 16.2%, in 1980.
Italy ranks 205th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 72 years of available data.
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 40.0% | — |
| 1850 | 42.0% | +5.2% |
| 1880 | 42.7% | +1.6% |
| 1891 | 44.4% | +3.9% |
| 1894 | 40.9% | -7.8% |
| 1900 | 42.8% | +4.7% |
| 1901 | 43.2% | +0.8% |
| 1902 | 40.7% | -5.7% |
| 1903 | 41.2% | +1.2% |
| 1904 | 44.1% | +7.0% |
| 1905 | 45.7% | +3.8% |
| 1906 | 44.1% | -3.6% |
| 1907 | 42.8% | -2.8% |
| 1908 | 42.2% | -1.4% |
| 1909 | 41.4% | -2.1% |
| 1910 | 44.5% | +7.5% |
| 1911 | 41.7% | -6.2% |
| 1912 | 43.2% | +3.6% |
| 1913 | 43.7% | +1.0% |
| 1914 | 42.9% | -1.9% |
| 1915 | 33.5% | -22.0% |
| 1920 | 32.0% | -4.2% |
| 1930 | 23.8% | -25.6% |
| 1940 | 23.7% | -0.4% |
| 1950 | 19.5% | -18.0% |
| 1960 | 19.0% | -2.5% |
| 1970 | 17.6% | -7.5% |
| 1980 | 16.2% | -7.4% |
| 1981 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 16.3% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 16.3% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 16.3% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 16.3% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 16.3% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 16.3% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 16.3% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 16.3% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 16.3% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 16.4% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 16.4% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 16.6% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 16.8% | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 17.1% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 17.7% | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 18.7% | +5.6% |
| 2001 | 20.3% | +8.3% |
| 2002 | 21.5% | +6.0% |
| 2003 | 20.9% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 20.8% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 21.3% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 21.8% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 21.1% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 20.6% | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 20.7% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 22.1% | +6.4% |
| 2011 | 22.1% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 23.6% | +6.7% |
| 2013 | 23.4% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 25.5% | +8.8% |
| 2015 | 22.5% | -11.8% |
| 2016 | 22.0% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 22.1% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 22.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 22.1% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 22.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 22.0% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 22.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 22.0% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 22.0% | +0.0% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 22.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 27.5%, 80% of the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Italy's 22.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 24.1%, 91% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | -25.6% | 32.0% | 23.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 40.0% | 40.0% | 40.0% | 1 |
| 1850s | 42.0% | 42.0% | 42.0% | 1 |
| 1880s | 42.7% | 42.7% | 42.7% | 1 |
| 1890s | 42.6% | 40.9% | 44.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 42.8% | 40.7% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 1910s | 41.6% | 33.5% | 44.5% | 6 |
| 1920s | 32.0% | 32.0% | 32.0% | 1 |
| 1930s | 23.8% | 23.8% | 23.8% | 1 |
| 1940s | 23.7% | 23.7% | 23.7% | 1 |
| 1950s | 19.5% | 19.5% | 19.5% | 1 |
| 1960s | 19.0% | 19.0% | 19.0% | 1 |
| 1970s | 17.6% | 17.6% | 17.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 16.3% | 16.2% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.6% | 16.3% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.8% | 18.7% | 21.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.8% | 22.0% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.0% | 22.0% | 22.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More reference data data for Italy
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.927 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 8.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 41.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.05 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in Italy was 22.0% 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 45.7% in 1905.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.2% in 1980.
- How does Italy rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- Italy ranks 205th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Italy 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
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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.