How income inequality in the Philippines compares with other economies

The Gini coefficient (Gini index or Gini ratio) is the most used measurement of income distribution. A higher Gini coefficient means a greater gap between the income of a country’s richest and poorest people. The Gini coefficient of a particular economy is important to help identify high levels of income inequality, which can have several undesirable political and economic impact, including slower economic growth, reduced income mobility, greater household debt, political polarization, and higher poverty rates, among others. While it is a tool for analyzing wealth or income distribution in an economy, however, it does not indicate its overall wealth or income. This infographic shows the Philippines having the worst income inequality across the East and Southeast Asia region, based on the latest available data from the World Bank.