The roots of economic inequality can be traced back to differences in access to education, health care, and other resources. In some countries, access to education and health care is limited or non-existent for certain groups, creating a divide between those who can obtain these resources and those who cannot. This is further exacerbated by gender and racial disparities, as well as unequal access to capital, meaning that certain individuals and groups are unable to break out of poverty and achieve economic success.
At the same time, economic inequality can also be attributed to systemic factors, including taxation and government policies. In many countries, the wealthiest individuals and businesses are able to take advantage of loopholes and tax breaks, while the poorest citizens are left to shoulder the burden of taxation. This creates a significant disparity between the wealthy and the poor, as the wealthy are able to accumulate more wealth while the poor fall further into poverty.
Ultimately, economic inequality is an issue that requires attention if we are to create a more equitable and just society. This can be achieved through a combination of government policies and initiatives, as well as greater investment into education, health care, and other resources that can enable individuals and communities to break out of poverty and achieve economic success.
World Economics, a data platform that augments official (usable) data with regular quarterly surveys, has developed a global economic inequality index. This report analyses international inequality data from the World Bank using published Gini coefficients for 150 of the 154 countries analyzed in the World Economics GDP Data Quality Index (DQI).
The Gini Coefficient may be used to assess the income distribution within an economy on a country-by-country basis. Nevertheless, not all Gini values are current.
The combination of GDP per capita with the Gini coefficient is a useful gauge of the extent to which an economy’s inhabitants find mass-market goods and services affordable and provides valuable information to portfolio investors and to development agencies
Depending on the unit of measurement, the Global Economics Inequality Index ranges from 0-100; a high value denotes a more equitable society, while a low value denotes that a large portion of the nation's income is held by a small number of people.
The World Economics ranking is based on a grading system, A is as good as it gets, B is good, C is use with caution, D is poor, and E is extremely Poor. However, these grades are based on an aggregate score of the aforementioned metrics.
| Rank |
Country |
Global Rank |
World Economics Inequality Index |
World Economics Grade |
|
1.
|
Senegal
|
95
|
36.0
|
D
|
|
2.
|
Morocco
|
92
|
37.3
|
D
|
|
3.
|
Burundi
|
87
|
38.7
|
C
|
|
4.
|
Gabon
|
84
|
39.7
|
C
|
|
5.
|
Mauritius
|
81
|
41.6
|
C
|
|
6.
|
Gambia
|
78
|
43.0
|
C
|
|
7.
|
Sierra Leone
|
75
|
43.3
|
C
|
|
8.
|
Burkina Faso
|
70
|
44.0
|
C
|
|
9.
|
Liberia
|
69
|
44.0
|
C
|
|
10.
|
Nigeria
|
67
|
44.3
|
C
|
