Richest 1% of Brazilians Make 36 Times More Than the 50% Poorest

11/30/2017 - 12h50

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JOANA CUNHA

SPECIAL ENVOY TO RIO DE JANEIRO

In 2016 the Brazilians who comprise the group of 1% of the population whose income is the highest in the country received on average 36.3 times the equivalent of that earned by half of the population who has the lowest income.

These are the conclusions of the Pnad Contínua disclosed by the IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Among the richest 1%, the real monthly average income from work was R$ 27,085 (US$ 8,315), while among those at the bottom, the income was R$ 747 (US$ 229), adjusted for inflation.

The country's northeastern region showed the biggest inequality between the two extremes of the population, with a 39.8 proportion. In the South, the discrepancy showed a lower ratio (24.6). The Gini index of average monthly income was 0.525 for the 2016 survey. The closer the Gini index is to one, the higher inequality is.

When the income concentration survey was held by analyzing the per capita household income, the group of the 10% highest incomes had a share above that of 80% of the population on the other extreme. The real average monthly per capita household income reached R$ 255.1 billion (US$ 78 billion) across the country in 2016. The southeastern region had the biggest share of that total (R$ 132.7 billion - US$ 42 billion).

In 2016, the workers' income comprised some 75% of the real average monthly household per capita effectively received. The remainder, 25% from other sources, was found in income related to retirement pensions and pensions of other types, rent and lease, alimony, donations among other sources of income.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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