US In Lower Third Among Nations In Income Disparity

UPDATE: 12/19/11 - SLATE  US Income MORE Unequal than Ancient Rome's http://t.co/w9vK63CC  

The Gini Index, or Gini Coefficient, measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country (see detailed explanation below).   The lower the number the more equitable the household income distribution within a country.  Studies have found that the more equitable the income distribution, the more stable and lasting are the periods of economic expansion.  Sweden has the most equitable distribution with an index of 23.  The rest of Western Europe is in the top third of Nation in equitable distribution of household income.  The United States is in the bottom third,  We have an index of 45, which places us between Uruguay and Cameroon.  Below is the full list of country rankings, with the worse distribution ranked number one.  [http://www.mongabay.com/reference/stats/rankings/2172.html]

Rank

country

Distribution of family        income - Gini index

Date of Information

1	Namibia	70.7	2003

2	South Africa	65.0	2005

3	Lesotho	63.2	1995

4	Botswana	63.0	1993

5	Sierra Leone	62.9	1989

6	Central African Republic	61.3	1993

7	Bolivia	59.2	2006

8	Haiti	59.2	2001

9	Paraguay	56.8	2008

10	Brazil	56.7	2005

11	Bosnia and Herzegovina	56.2	2007

12	Panama	56.1	2003

13	Guatemala	55.1	2007

14	Chile	54.9	2003

15	Colombia	53.8	2005

16	Honduras	53.8	2003

17	Hong Kong	53.3	2007

18	El Salvador	52.4	2002

19	Papua New Guinea	50.9	1996

20	Zambia	50.8	2004

21	Niger	50.5	1995

22	Swaziland	50.4	2001

23	Gambia, The	50.2	1998

24	Zimbabwe	50.1	2006

25	Dominican Republic	49.9	2005

26	Peru	49.8	2005

27	Argentina	49.0	January-March 2007

28	Sri Lanka	49.0	2004

29	Venezuela	48.2	2003

30	Singapore	48.1	2008

31	Costa Rica	48.0	2008

32	Mexico	47.9	2006

33	Madagascar	47.5	2001

34	Mozambique	47.3	2002

35	Nepal	47.2	2008

36	China	47.0	2007

37	Rwanda	46.8	2000

38	Malaysia	46.1	2002

39	Ecuador	46.0	2006

40	Philippines	45.8	2006

41	Uganda	45.7	2002

42	Jamaica	45.5	2004

43	Uruguay	45.2	2006

44	United States	45.0	2007

45	Cameroon	44.6	2001

46	Cote d'Ivoire	44.6	2002

47	Iran	44.5	2006

48	Nigeria	43.7	2003

49	Turkey	43.6	2003

50	Guyana	43.2	1999

51	Nicaragua	43.1	2001

52	Cambodia	43.0	2007 est.

53	Kenya	42.5	2008 est.

54	Burundi	42.4	1998

55	Thailand	42.0	2002

56	Russia	41.5	September 2008

57	Senegal	41.3	2001

58	Georgia	40.8	2005

59	Turkmenistan	40.8	1998

60	Mali	40.1	2001

61	Morocco	40.0	2005 est.

62	Tunisia	40.0	2005 est.

63	Jordan	39.7	2007

64	Burkina Faso	39.5	2007

65	Ghana	39.4	2005-06

66	Indonesia	39.4	2005

67	Malawi	39.0	2004

68	Macedonia	39.0	2003

69	Mauritius	39.0	2006 est.

70	Mauritania	39.0	2000

71	Israel	38.6	2005

72	Portugal	38.5	2007

73	Guinea	38.1	2006

74	Japan	38.1	2002

75	Timor-Leste	38.0

76	Yemen	37.7	2005

77	Armenia	37.0	2006

78	Vietnam	37.0	2004

79	India	36.8	2004

80	Uzbekistan	36.8	2003

81	Azerbaijan	36.5	2001

82	Benin	36.5	2003

83	New Zealand	36.2	1997

84	Latvia	36.0	2005

85	Lithuania	36.0	2005

86	Algeria	35.3	1995

87	Poland	34.9	2005

88	Laos	34.6	2002

89	Tanzania	34.6	2000

90	Egypt	34.4	2001

91	Estonia	34.0	2008

92	United Kingdom	34.0	2005

93	Switzerland	33.7	2008

94	Bangladesh	33.2	2005

95	Moldova	33.2	2003

96	Greece	33.0	2005

97	Mongolia	32.8	2002

98	France	32.7	2008

99	Tajikistan	32.6	2006

100	Canada	32.1	2005

101	Ireland	32.0	2005

102	Spain	32.0	2005

103	Romania	32.0	2008

104	Italy	32.0	2006

105	Korea, South	31.3	2007

106	European Union	31.0	2005 est.

107	Ukraine	31.0	2006

108	Netherlands	30.9	2007

109	Bulgaria	30.7	2007

110	Pakistan	30.6	FY07/08

111	Australia	30.5	2006

112	Kazakhstan	30.4	2005

113	Kyrgyzstan	30.3	2003

114	Ethiopia	30.0	2000

115	Montenegro	30.0	2003

116	Serbia	30.0	2003

117	Finland	29.5	2007

118	Cyprus	29.0	2005

119	Croatia	29.0	2008

120	Belgium	28.0	2005

121	Hungary	28.0	2005

122	Belarus	27.9	2005

123	Germany	27.0	2006

124	Albania	26.7	2005

125	Austria	26.0	2007

126	Luxembourg	26.0	2005

127	Malta	26.0	2007

128	Slovakia	26.0	2005

129	Czech Republic	26.0	2005

130	Iceland	25.0	2005

131	Norway	25.0	2008

132	Denmark	24.0	2005

133	Slovenia	24.0	2005

134	Sweden	23.0	2005

The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its Lorenz curve to the 45 degree line and the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25. The more unequal a country's income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub-Saharan country with an index of 50. If income were distributed with perfect equality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the 45 degree line and the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the horizontal axis and the right vertical axis and the index would be 100.


This graph from the 12/11/11 New York Times


And this URL link is to a great website and data base called, "The World Top Income Database
http://184.168.89.58/sketch/