Wealthiest 3% Control One-Fifth of World Income

According to Gallup, the plight of the poor is remarkable:

Across 131 countries worldwide, the richest 3% of residents hold 20% of the total collective household income — as do the poorest 54%. In other words, the 3% reporting the highest household incomes share the same “slice” of collective income across countries that more than half of residents worldwide — those on the lower end of the income scale — must share. Income inequality levels are highest in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia (predominantly China).

The effects are what might be expected, according to Gallup:

Income inequality is a significant barrier to development in many poor and transitional countries, as quality of life and human development indicators may remain stagnant even as gross domestic product rises if the added wealth benefits only a small share of the population.

According to Gallup, that is one of the primary reasons that countries with rapidly growing gross domestic product have not benefited the people at the bottom of the income pool.

Finally, Gallup researchers have put forward the theory that huge income inequality is what fuels much of the instability in many countries:

High levels of income inequality have been associated with a variety of social problems such as poverty, crime, and social instability, particularly in countries where living standards are low for most residents. For example, in Tunisia in the years prior to the 2011 revolution, the country’s total per capita GDP was climbing while its income gap was widening significantly, partly because of rising unemployment. Even as the country overall was getting richer, more Tunisians were experiencing poverty, and their average life evaluations were falling.

The resulting hardship ultimately contributed to revolution, which in turn triggered unrest among other disadvantaged Arab-world populations. It also clearly demonstrated the importance to global leaders of tracking income distribution, especially in times of rapid economic change.

What Gallup does not say is that there is no reason to hope the current situation will change, at least if recent history is any guide.