Richest 10% of Pakistanis capture 42% of national income: report

Inequality in Pakistan remains high with only marginal improvement over the past decade, as the top 10% of earners continue to capture a disproportionate share of income and wealth, according to the World Inequality Report 2026 released by the World Inequality Lab.

The report shows that the richest 10% of Pakistanis receive 42% of total national income, while the bottom 50% account for just 19%. Wealth concentration is even sharper, with the top 10% holding 59% of total wealth and the top 1% alone controlling 24%.

The World Inequality Lab, a global research centre hosted primarily at the Paris School of Economics, noted that Pakistan’s average income per capita stands at about 4,200 euros in purchasing power parity terms, while average wealth is estimated at 15,700 euros.

According to the findings, the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom half narrowed only slightly over the past decade, declining from 22.0 in 2014 to 21.4 in 2024, indicating limited progress in reducing inequality.

The report also highlighted setbacks in gender inclusion, with female labour force participation falling from 9.8% to 8.5%, underscoring persistent disparities in access to economic opportunities.

Globally, the report said inequality remains extremely high, with the top 10% of income earners worldwide receiving more than the remaining 90% combined, while the poorest half of the global population captures less than 10% of total income.

Wealth concentration at the global level is even more pronounced, as the top 10% own around 75% of global wealth and the bottom half just 2%. The report noted that the wealthiest 0.001%—fewer than 60,000 individuals—now control more wealth than half of humanity combined.

According to the report, the share of wealth held by this ultra-rich group has increased from nearly 4% in 1995 to more than 6% today. Since the 1990s, the wealth of billionaires and centi-millionaires has grown at about 8% annually, nearly double the growth rate experienced by the bottom half of the global population.

The findings point to a pattern in which income and wealth concentration continues to deepen both globally and in Pakistan, with only limited shifts in distribution and persistent structural gaps across income levels and gender.