18 March 2026 - Which countries suffer from high levels of inequality? Has global inequality declined over the past three decades, or remained persistently high? Surprisingly, the answers depend on where you look.

In a recent webinar organized by UN DESA’s Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), economist Rahul Lahoti of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) explained why the world’s leading inequality databases often tell different stories.

For example, the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform suggests that India has relatively low inequality, with a Gini coefficient of around 25. In contrast, estimates from UNU-WIDER and the World Inequality Lab place India’s Gini above 40, ranking it among the world’s highly-unequal countries.

None of these estimates is necessarily wrong. Rather, they simply answer slightly different questions.

Measuring inequality involves a series of decisions: whether to focus on income or consumption, how to account for taxes and transfers, which data sources to use, and which indicator to prioritize. Each of these choices can influence the final estimate, sometimes substantially.

In many developing countries, household surveys collect information on consumption rather than income. Because higher-income households tend to save more, consumption often appears more evenly distributed than income. Comparing the two directly can therefore produce different pictures of inequality. Harmonizing improves comparability, but it also requires assumptions.

Another challenge is the so-called “missing rich.” Household surveys rarely capture the richest households. Some databases combine survey data with tax records to better estimate top incomes—often resulting in higher inequality estimates. Unfortunately, reliable tax records are not available in all countries.

Despite these differences, better data have improved our understanding of inequality over the past decade.

By bringing expert voices, UNDESA DISD’s webinar series provides an important platform for researchers and policymakers to navigate these complex measurement challenges—so that debates about inequality are based on clearer evidence and better comparisons across countries.

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