India among world’s most unequal nations despite misleading official claims
New Delhi: India’s inequality crisis continues to deepen despite misleading claims by its government and state-run media portraying the country as one of the most economically equal nations in the world.
According to Kashmir Media Service, several major Indian newspapers recently carried reports claiming that India ranks as the “fourth most equal country”. However, fact-checks by economists have exposed this as a gross misrepresentation of data by India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB), which wrongly cited the World Bank’s findings. In reality, India ranks 176th out of 216 countries in terms of income equality, making it one of the most unequal countries in the world.
The PIB’s claim was based on the “consumption-based Gini index” — a measure that naturally shows lower inequality since the wealthy save more than they spend — and then compared it with other countries’ income-based Gini indices, a statistical blunder experts describe as “comparing apples to oranges.” The World Inequality Database places India’s income inequality Gini index at 61 in 2023, up from 52 in 2004, while wealth inequality stands even higher at 75, putting India alongside Brazil and South Africa among the most unequal societies globally.
Economists note that India’s inequality has worsened dramatically over the past decade, with the top 10 percent earning 13 times more than the bottom 10 percent. The World Bank has cautioned that India’s consumption data may be “underestimating inequality” due to changes and limitations in the 2022–23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey.
Observers say this manipulation of facts reflects the Modi regime’s growing tendency to distort official data to craft a false image of economic progress and social equality. Analysts warn that such misreporting not only misleads the public but also undermines democratic accountability and policy efforts to address widening disparities.
Experts have called for urgent redistributive measures, including progressive taxation and wealth reform, to correct India’s deepening socio-economic imbalance. “Whichever way one looks at the data, the picture is clear: India is a highly unequal country, and inequality is worsening,” noted London-based economist Dr. Surbhi Kesar, emphasizing that denying this reality only endangers the nation’s long-term stability.
