RANKED: The 8 most unequal major economies in the world

LONDON – Inequality among OECD countries is still very much a problem, and some of the richest and most developed countries have the widest gaps between the rich and the poor.

New data, collated by the OECD, shows the levels of inequality across all 36 member states.

Inequality is measured on a scale between zero and one, where zero represents perfect equality and one represents the maximum possible inequality (if one person were to have everything and everybody else had nothing).

Each country has two scores: one for market income inequality, which measures salaries, capital and property income, and one for income after redistribution, which also takes into account levelling factors, such as taxes paid, cash benefits and social security.

All countries see a reduction in inequality after this redistribution is considered, although the amount by which inequality is reduced varies considerably.

Keep scrolling for the eight most unequal countries:

8. Lithuania — 0.35

Inequality before redistribution: 0.51

Lithuania has one of the highest inequality levels in Europe, both before and after redistribution — although taxes bring this down significantly.

The top 20% of the population has 6.1 times the amount of disposable income than the bottom 20%, and roughly a fifth of the population has been estimated to be at risk of poverty, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source: OECD, IMF

= 6. United Kingdom — 0.36

Inequality before redistribution: 0.53

The UK has the third highest level of inequality in Europe after redistribution, and the joint fourth highest, with Spain, of all 36 counties beforehand. After redistribution, Spain is more equal than the UK.

Income for the richest 20% of the population before cash benefits and direct taxes was roughly 12 times higher than that for the poorest 20% in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

When taxes are taken into account, disposable incomes were around five times higher for the richest 20% than for the poorest.

Source: OECD, ONS

= 6. Estonia — 0.36

Inequality before redistribution: 0.51

Source: OECD, Leader of the Estonian Social Democratic Party, via

5. Israel — 0.37

Inequality before redistribution: 0.46

Source: OECD

= 3. Turkey — 0.39

Inequality before redistribution: 0.42

Source: OECD

= 3. United States — 0.39

Inequality before redistribution: 0.51

Many have pointed to the growing divide between the rich and the poor as a significant factor in producing an undercurrent of discontent and subsequent backlash, which helped President Donald Trump rise to power.

Source: OECD, Fortune

2. Mexico — 0.46

Inequality before redistribution: 0.48

Source: OECD, LSE

1. Chile — 0.47

Inequality before redistribution: 0.50

Source: OECD, World Bank

All countries

Country ranking, where 1 is most unequal and 36 is least unequal

RANKED: The 8 most unequal major economies in the world

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