Where Global Wealth Inequality Is Rampant

Global wealth is concentrated at the top. This is true for all countries to varying degrees. Yet, according to the World Inequality Database, in almost all nations, the richest 10 percent hold more than 50 percent of personal wealth, while the bottom 50 percent hold at most 10.4 percent.

The United States ranks towards the top for the unequal distribution of wealth, surpassing European countries. Its wealth distribution has become more unequal again recently, an instance which is now potentially continuing with the latest Republican budget proposal that aims to give tax cuts to rich Americans while limiting social services.

The Republican-controlled United States Senate and House of Representatives in late February both passed budget blueprints and the versions now need to be reconciled. Already emerging from the initial resolutions is the plan to extend the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, some of which would soon be expiring, to the tune of $3.6 trillion through 2034. This includes $1.8 trillion in connection with cuts to individual income and estate tax provisions for those earning more than $400,000 annually. $900 billion in new tax cuts are also included in the drafts, which might go to corporations.

On the other side of the equation are cuts to the budget of Medicaid totaling $880 billion, $230 billion from SNAP and similar benefits and $330 billion in large parts from student loan interest and fees included in the House version of the proposal. The resolutions say that $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in costs should be cut.

While the top 10 percent in the European Union held 59.3 percent of its personal wealth in 2023, the United States’ top 10 percent held 71.2 percent of it, only surpassed by countries in Southern Africa, Latin America as well some Arabian Gulf and Middle Eastern nations. The most unequal EU country listed was Hungary at 67.1 percent held by the top 10 percent, while the most equal (at least regarding this metric) was the Netherlands at 45.4 percent. Outside the EU, Iceland and North Macedonia were the most equally distributed at around 56.5-56.7 percent of wealth in the hands of the top 10 percent. Due to Mexico and the U.S. being two very unequal countries, inequality in North America in 2023 reached the same level as in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia overall (around 70 percent). Europe and Oceania were rated as the most equal world regions, with Eastern Europe faring slightly worse, followed by Asian regions Southeast Asia and South Asia.