Inequality impact

Global inequality is the unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and power that shape well-being among the 8 billion individuals on our planet. Distinct from inequality within a country or between countries, global inequality is one way of understanding the different lived experiences of our fellow humans, no matter where they live.

Notably, global inequality is worse than inequality within countries. And economic inequality—the unequal distribution of income—is one strikingly visible dimension of global inequalities in well-being.

In the early 1800s, individuals worldwide had more similar living standards, and differences in wealth and income were closer.

Global inequality grew substantially after the Industrial Revolution, sparking rapid income growth in Western Europe, the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand as compared with incomes in other countries.

Fast forward to today, the  own more than the bottom 3.1 billion people.

Economic inequality often interacts with other kinds of disadvantage that result from power imbalances in society worldwide. For example, the absence of women’s voices in decision-making spaces or a caste system that discriminates against sectors of society with lower status reflect cultural, political, and social inequalities that undermine people’s well-being.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen calls the array of things that make up well-being “capabilities.”

Capabilities are essential “freedoms” that make it possible to live a full and healthy life. They come from having adequate resources and the ability to use those resources with ease and purpose.

In other words: Global inequality stems not just from what people have and don’t have—but what they're able to do with what they have.