Wednesday, September 16, 2026
72°F5:30 PM CT · Omaha

The Metric Sun-Times

All the data that’s fit to query.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
72°F5:30 PM CT · Omaha

The Metric Sun-Times

All the data that’s fit to query.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

The Metric Sun-Times

All the data that’s fit to query.

World

The Fifty-Fold Gap in Average Incomes

In the poorest countries, people live on less than $1,000 a year. In the richest, average incomes are more than fifty times higher.

In the poorest countries, people live on less than $1,000 a year. In the richest, average incomes are more than fifty times higher.

GDP per capita. Maddison Project Database via Our World in Data. CC BY.

GDP per capita is a blunt measure of average income, and it still makes the gap impossible to miss. Our World in Data, drawing on the Maddison Project, shows that most people, in every country, used to be poor. The chart is the record of who left that behind, and how far the rest still have to go.

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