Charting Income Distributions in 16 Different Countries
Throughout the 19th century, roughly 80% of the global population lived in what we’d now consider extreme poverty.
And as earnings and living conditions have improved dramatically since then, they haven’t done so evenly across the world. There are still vast income gaps, both between different countries and within them.
To highlight these global income discrepancies, this chart by Ruben Berge Mathisen shows income distributions around the world, using 2021 income data from the World Inequality Database (WID) on a per adult basis.
Global Income Distributions
This graphic shows the adult income distributions of 16 different countries in U.S. dollars, along with the world average.
On a global scale, adults making an annual income greater than $124,720 make it into the 99th percentile, meaning they make more than 99% of the worldwide population.
However, things change when you zoom in on specific countries. Here’s a look at all the countries on the list, and how much annual income is needed (at minimum) to be in the top 1%:
| Region | Country | Adult income (2021, 99th percentile) |
|---|---|---|
| North America |  United States | $336,953.19 |
| North America |  Canada | $193,035.55 |
| North America |  Mexico | $130,388.19 |
| South America |  Brazil | $115,257.86 |
| South America |  Colombia | $97,500.37 |
| South America |  Argentina | $94,794.89 |
| Asia |  China | $99,095.34 |
| Asia |  India | $65,370.51 |
| Asia |  Indonesia | $85,176.35 |
| Europe |  Russia | $124,805.86 |
| Europe |  Germany | $212,106.53 |
| Europe |  United Kingdom | $162,547.56 |
| Africa |  Nigeria | $53,144.36 |
| Africa |  Ethiopia | $24,295.66 |
| Africa |  Egypt | $115,546.44 |
| Oceania |  Australia | $164,773.40 |
 World | $124,719.60 |
People in America’s top 1% make at least (Read more...)