Top 10% of earners take 42% of Pakistan's income: report

• Bottom 50% in Pakistan receive just 19% of total income.
• Richest 10% hold 59% of Pakistan’s total wealth: report.
• Top 1% control 24% of total wealth in Pakistan: WIL.

Inequality in Pakistan remains pronounced, with the top 10% of earners taking 42% of total income, while the bottom 50% receive just 19%, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.

Published by the World Inequality Lab (WIL), a Paris-based research centre, the report said wealth in Pakistan is even more concentrated, with the richest 10% holding 59% of total wealth and the top 1.0% controlling 24%, The News reported on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s average income per capita stands at about 4,200 euros (purchasing power parity), while average wealth is 15,700 euros (PPP). The report noted only a slight narrowing of the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50%, from 22 to 21.4, between 2014 and 2024. Female labour force participation also declined, falling from 9.8% to 8.5%.

“Overall, income and wealth are highly concentrated in Pakistan, with persistent gender disparities and only minor shifts in inequality trends,” the report said. Globally, the report found that extreme inequality persists. The top 10% of income earners worldwide take more than the remaining 90%, while the poorest 50% share less than 10% of global income. Wealth is even more concentrated: the top 10% own three-quarters of global wealth, while the bottom half holds just 2.0%.

The report also highlighted the wealth of the very richest. The world’s wealthiest 0.001% — fewer than 60,000 individuals — own more than the bottom 50% of the global population combined. 

Their share has risen from nearly 4.0% in 1995 to over 6.0% today, with wealth growing at roughly 8.0% annually, nearly double the rate of the bottom half of the population.

“The result is a world in which a tiny minority commands unprecedented financial power, while billions remain excluded from even basic economic stability,” the report said.