Income inequality in Bangladesh rose in the 1990s and has eased only slightly since

The Gini index measures how evenly consumption is shared: 0 means everyone has the same, 100 means one household has everything. Bangladesh’s index rose sharply in the 1990s, from 27.6 in 1991 to 33.4 in 2000, as growth took off faster in cities than in villages.

30.9

Bangladesh’s Gini index in the 2022 household survey — lower than in 2000, but well above 1991.

Since then inequality has been broadly flat, easing to 30.9 in 2022. Survey-based consumption measures tend to understate inequality, because the richest households are rarely captured and income is usually more unequal than spending — so the true gap is likely wider than these figures show.

Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform, from BBS Household Income and Expenditure Surveys, via World Bank WDI (SI.POV.GINI).