Why in News?
The World Bank has ranked India as the fourth most equal country globally, with a Gini Index of 25.5, indicating significant progress in income equality.
What is the Gini Index?
- A measure of income inequality developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini in 1912.
- Value ranges:
- 0 = Perfect equality
- 100 = Perfect inequality
- Based on the Lorenz Curve, comparing actual income distribution to perfect equality.
India’s Performance:
- Gini Index in 2011: 28.8
- Gini Index in 2022: 25.5
- Falls in the “moderately low inequality” range (25–30)
- India now ranks ahead of
- China (35.7)
- USA (41.8)
Significance for India:
- India is now more equal than all G7 and G20 nations.
- The trend contradicts assumptions about India’s inequality due to urban-rural gaps and interstate disparities.
- Indicates broad-based income growth, especially in lower income groups.