India's Income Inequality Widens: Top 1% Earn More Than Under British Rule

In 2022, India's top 1% earned 22.6% of national income, higher than under British rule and more than the top 1% in the U.S., China, France, the U.K. and Brazil.

The income share of India's top 10% surged after liberalization to 57.7% in 2022 from 36.7% in 1951, while the bottom 50%'s share fell from 20.6% to 15%.

The average income of the top 1% in 2022 was Rs. 53 lakh, 23 times higher than the average Indian's income of Rs. 2.3 lakh.

China and Vietnam's average incomes grew much faster than India's in recent decades.

India's income inequality has widened rapidly in the last 2 decades, with the top 10% and 1% commanding the highest income shares in decades.