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How much more the richest fifth receives than the poorest

Topic: Work and income

In Bulgaria, the richest fifth received 6.94 times as much income as the poorest fifth, against 3.25 times in Belgium.

In 2025, the richest fifth of a country's people received 4.62 times the income of its poorest fifth, on average across the EU weighted by population. The income is that of the calendar year before the survey.

Figures for:
2025.
Covers:
the time of the survey.
New data:
once a year.
Dataset updated:
20 October 2026.

Published 4 November 2026

27 / 27 EU countries ranked

The ranking

In 2025, the income of the richest fifth compared with the poorest fifth (S80/S20) was highest in Bulgaria, at 6.94 times, and lowest in Belgium, at 3.25 times.

Income of the richest fifth compared with the poorest fifth (S80/S20), times

2025
02468times
Rank 1: Bulgaria, 6.94 times
Rank 2: Latvia, 6.68 times
Rank 3: Lithuania, 6.54 times
Rank 4: Spain, 5.24 times
Rank 5: Greece, 5.17 times
Rank 6: Italy, 5.13 times
Rank 7: Estonia, 5.07 times
Rank 8: Portugal, 4.86 times
Rank 9: Croatia, 4.78 times
Rank 10: France, 4.74 times
Rank 11: Germany, 4.68 times
Rank 11: Hungary, 4.68 times
Rank 13: Cyprus, 4.60 times
Rank 13: Luxembourg, 4.60 times
Rank 15: Sweden, 4.58 times
Rank 16: Malta, 4.49 times
Rank 17: Romania, 4.37 times
Rank 18: Austria, 4.25 times
Rank 19: Denmark, 4.12 times
Rank 20: Finland, 3.93 times
Rank 21: Ireland, 3.89 times
Rank 22: Netherlands, 3.76 times
Rank 23: Poland, 3.63 times
Rank 24: Slovenia, 3.55 times
Rank 25: Czechia, 3.34 times
Rank 26: Slovakia, 3.27 times
Rank 27: Belgium, 3.25 times
How to read: bars start at zero. Every country with a value is shown, ranked from highest to lowest.Source: Eurostat, Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 for disposable income by sex and age group (ilc_di11).Chart: Civitascope (civitascope.eu) · CC BY 4.0 · Download image · Download data ·

Under 65 and 65 or over

Among people aged 65 or over, the spread across countries was narrower. It ranged from 2.52 times in Czechia and Slovakia to 5.60 times in Latvia. The highest and the lowest were 3.08 apart.

Among people under 65, the spread across countries was wider than among people aged 65 or over. Bulgaria was the highest, at 7.78 times, and Belgium the lowest, at 3.26 times. The gap was 4.52.

Income of the richest fifth compared with the poorest fifth (S80/S20): 65 or over and under 65, times

2025
65 or overUnder 65Under 65 − 65 or overDifference
468
Rank 1: Bulgaria, 65 or over: 4.59 times, Under 65: 7.78 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +3.19
Rank 2: Lithuania, 65 or over: 3.96 times, Under 65: 6.88 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +2.92
Rank 3: Latvia, 65 or over: 5.60 times, Under 65: 6.27 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.67
Rank 4: Greece, 65 or over: 4.19 times, Under 65: 5.48 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +1.29
Rank 5: Spain, 65 or over: 4.79 times, Under 65: 5.36 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.57
Rank 6: Estonia, 65 or over: 3.66 times, Under 65: 5.20 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +1.54
Rank 7: Italy, 65 or over: 5.08 times, Under 65: 5.14 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.06
Rank 8: France, 65 or over: 4.05 times, Under 65: 4.94 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.89
Rank 9: Germany, 65 or over: 3.97 times, Under 65: 4.80 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.83
Rank 10: Hungary, 65 or over: 4.32 times, Under 65: 4.75 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.43
Rank 11: Portugal, Under 65: 4.70 times, 65 or over: 5.33 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: −0.63
Rank 12: Romania, 65 or over: 3.18 times, Under 65: 4.69 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +1.51
Rank 13: Luxembourg, 65 or over: 4.38 times, Under 65: 4.59 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.21
Rank 13: Sweden, 65 or over: 4.55 times, Under 65: 4.59 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.04
Rank 15: Cyprus, Under 65: 4.46 times, 65 or over: 4.70 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: −0.24
Rank 16: Malta, 65 or over: 4.08 times, Under 65: 4.41 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.33
Rank 17: Austria, 65 or over: 4.24 times, Under 65: 4.24 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: 0.00
Rank 18: Finland, 65 or over: 3.15 times, Under 65: 4.17 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +1.02
Rank 19: Croatia, Under 65: 4.16 times, 65 or over: 5.27 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: −1.11
Rank 20: Denmark, 65 or over: 3.79 times, Under 65: 4.15 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.36
Rank 21: Ireland, Under 65: 3.82 times, 65 or over: 4.23 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: −0.41
Rank 22: Netherlands, 65 or over: 3.25 times, Under 65: 3.77 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.52
Rank 23: Poland, 65 or over: 3.15 times, Under 65: 3.73 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.58
Rank 24: Slovakia, 65 or over: 2.52 times, Under 65: 3.51 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.99
Rank 25: Czechia, 65 or over: 2.52 times, Under 65: 3.50 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.98
Rank 26: Slovenia, 65 or over: 3.40 times, Under 65: 3.42 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.02
Rank 27: Belgium, 65 or over: 2.95 times, Under 65: 3.26 times, Under 65 − 65 or over: +0.31
A difference below zero means the ratio is higher among people aged 65 or over than among those under 65, a difference above zero that it is lower.How to read: the filled dot is under 65, the outlined dot 65 or over, each with its value beside it. The column on the right is their difference, under 65 − 65 or over. Countries are ranked by under 65.Source: Eurostat, Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 for disposable income by sex and age group (ilc_di11).Chart: Civitascope (civitascope.eu) · CC BY 4.0 · Download image · Download data ·
Everyone65 or overUnder 65
Lowest3.25 timesBelgium2.52 timesCzechia and Slovakia3.26 timesBelgium
Highest6.94 timesBulgaria5.60 timesLatvia7.78 timesBulgaria
Highest − lowest3.693.084.52

Everyone

Lowest: 3.25 times (Belgium)Highest: 6.94 times (Bulgaria)Highest − lowest: 3.69

65 or over

Lowest: 2.52 times (Czechia and Slovakia)Highest: 5.60 times (Latvia)Highest − lowest: 3.08

Under 65

Lowest: 3.26 times (Belgium)Highest: 7.78 times (Bulgaria)Highest − lowest: 4.52

About the data

The total equivalised disposable income received by the fifth of the population with the highest income, divided by the total received by the fifth with the lowest income.

Eurostat: “The income quintile share ratio or the S80/S20 ratio is a measure of the inequality of income distribution. It is calculated as the ratio of total income received by the 20 % of the population with the highest income (the top quintile ) to that received by the 20 % of the population with the lowest income (the bottom quintile). All incomes are compiled as equivalised disposable incomes .” (source)

EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC), a yearly sample survey of households run by the national statistical institutes, in some countries combined with administrative records. A household's income after taxes and social contributions is divided among its members by a standard scale of household size, and people are then ranked by that income.

How to read these numbers

How it is measured

The survey covers people living in private households. People in collective households and institutions are generally not included (Estonia includes collective households).

The income refers to the calendar year before the survey. Until 2019, Ireland used the twelve months before the interview instead.

Extreme incomes, especially at the top of the distribution, can strongly influence the ratio. A Eurostat working paper of 2017 on EU-SILC lists the under-estimation of top incomes among the survey's data quality issues.

For people under 65, the ratio compares the richest and the poorest fifth of that age group only. It says nothing about inequality in the whole population, and the ratios of two age groups cannot be added up.

For people aged 65 or over, the ratio compares the richest and the poorest fifth of that age group only. It says nothing about inequality in the whole population, and the ratios of two age groups cannot be added up.

The EU figure is the average of the national ratios, weighted by population. It does not compare the richest and the poorest fifth of the whole EU population.

Provisional figures

A provisional value (flag p) may still be revised. This concerns Lithuania (2025).

Sources and data

Eurostat, Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 for disposable income by sex and age group (ilc_di11). Data updated 20 October 2026, retrieved 4 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

Eurostat metadata · Eurostat methodology

The exact Eurostat API query

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/ilc_di11?format=JSON&lang=en&age=TOTAL&freq=A&geo=AT&geo=BE&geo=BG&geo=CY&geo=CZ&geo=DE&geo=DK&geo=EE&geo=EL&geo=ES&geo=EU27_2020&geo=FI&geo=FR&geo=HR&geo=HU&geo=IE&geo=IT&geo=LT&geo=LU&geo=LV&geo=MT&geo=NL&geo=PL&geo=PT&geo=RO&geo=SE&geo=SI&geo=SK&sex=T&unit=RAT

How every number in this story was computed

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