World Inequality Report 2026
1. Edition April 2026
240 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
The World Inequality Report 2026 is the most authoritative and wide-ranging account available of global trends in inequality. Drawing on the work of more than 200 researchers worldwide, the report builds on the 2018 and 2022 editions to provide policymakers, scholars, and the wider public with up-to-date information about an ever-broader range of forms of inequality that have previously been hard to trace.
Inequality has increasingly taken center stage in public debate as the wealthiest individuals in most parts of the world have seen their share of economic resources rise sharply relative to the majority of the population. The resulting political, social, and climate pressures have created urgent new challenges for governments and a growing demand for reliable data. The World Inequality Lab, based at the Paris School of Economics, has responded by documenting and analyzing the evolution of income and wealth inequality across all regions of the world. This new report not only provides up-to-date evidence on the history of inequality and on disparities within and between regions, across gender, climate, and taxation, but also presents new analysis of financial privilege and unequal exchange in the global financial system and examines how inequality shapes political behavior.
The World Inequality Report 2026 will be an essential resource for anyone concerned about one of the most urgent and contentious subjects in contemporary politics and economics.
Executive Summary
Introduction
1 Global Economic Inequality
2 Regional Income Inequality
3 Regional Wealth Inequality
4 Gender Inequality
5 Exorbitant Privilege
6 Climate, a Capital Problem
7 Multi-Millionaires Taxation
8 Political Cleavages
Glossary
Country-sheets
Appendix
Jayati Ghosh
"History, experiences across countries, and theory all show that today's extreme inequality is not inevitable. Progressive taxation, strong social investment, fair labor standards, and democratic institutions have narrowed gaps in the past--and can do so again. The World Inequality Report 2026 provides the empirical foundation and intellectual framework for what can be done."
Joseph E. Stiglitz
"Inequality is silent until it becomes scandalous. This report gives voice to inequality--and to the billions of people whose opportunities are frustrated by today's unequal social and economic structures."
Ricardo Gómez-Carrera
"The World Inequality Report 2026 is an outstanding achievement: the definitive resource to monitor the evolution of inequality globally, in all its dimensions. It is a true global public good and a vital input for the public conversation throughout the world. We should all be immensely thankful to its authors who are doing such a service by disseminating this knowledge, for the benefit of all."
Gabriel Zucman
Ricardo Gómez-Carrera is the Lead Author of the World Inequality Report 2026. He is a research economist at the World Inequality Lab and a PhD candidate at the Paris School of Economics. His research focuses on development, inequality, and the role of education in reducing inequality.
Rowaida Moshrif is Co-Director and Head of Data at the World Inequality Lab. She works on the development of large-scale inequality databases and research projects aimed at advancing the understanding of global economic disparities and informing public policy. She is also a PhD candidate at EHESS, affiliated with the Paris School of Economics (PSE). Her research lies at the intersection of economic history and political economy with a regional focus on Egypt.
Thomas Piketty is Professor of Economics and Economic History at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and the Paris School of Economics. His books include A Brief History of Equality, Capital and Ideology, and the bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century.