Wealth share of the richest 1% in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 21.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Wealth share of the richest 1% in United Kingdom, 1820–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 21.3% for wealth share of the richest 1% in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in United Kingdom peaked at 72.8% in 1896 and was at its lowest, 17.8%, in 1984.
That places United Kingdom 209th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 125 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 68.0% | 68.0% | 68.0% | 1 |
| 1850s | 68.7% | 68.7% | 68.7% | 1 |
| 1880s | 72.0% | 72.0% | 72.0% | 1 |
| 1890s | 72.0% | 70.9% | 72.8% | 5 |
| 1900s | 71.0% | 69.6% | 72.5% | 10 |
| 1910s | 67.8% | 62.4% | 69.8% | 6 |
| 1920s | 59.4% | 57.7% | 61.9% | 10 |
| 1930s | 55.9% | 53.6% | 57.6% | 10 |
| 1940s | 49.8% | 46.8% | 53.5% | 6 |
| 1950s | 41.7% | 38.0% | 45.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 35.2% | 31.2% | 38.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 26.8% | 20.9% | 31.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.3% | 17.8% | 21.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.7% | 18.3% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.0% | 18.8% | 20.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.3% | 20.0% | 22.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.2% | 20.9% | 21.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More reference data data for United Kingdom
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.37 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 2.09 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.4402 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies -0.1504 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.74 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 153.13 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wealth share of the richest 1% in United Kingdom?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in United Kingdom was 21.3% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 72.8% in 1896.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.8% in 1984.
- How does United Kingdom rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- United Kingdom ranks 209th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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
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.