'The richest 10 percent captures 54 percent of Turkey's total income'

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Founded by economist Thomas Piketty, the Paris-based World Inequality Lab has released its World Inequality Report 2022.

According to the report, the richest 10 percent of the global population currently takes 52 percent of the global income, whereas the poorest half of the population earns only 8 percent of it.

Global wealth inequalities are reportedly even more pronounced than income inequalities as the poorest half of the global population barely owns any wealth at all, possessing just 2 percent of the total.

So, the report has noted that "contemporary global inequalities are close to early 20th century levels, at the peak of Western imperialism."

Inequality in Turkey

In its annual report, the World Inequality Lab has also shared some striking facts about inequality in Turkey. The report has shown that the richest 10 percent captures 54.5 percent of total income in the country:

• Income inequality

"In Turkey, the average national income of the adult population is 27,400 Euro (or 85,010 TRY). While the bottom 50 percent earns 6,500 Euro (20,260 TRY), the top 10 percent earns on average 23 times more (149,400 Euro or 463,020 TRY). The top 10 percent captures 54.5 percent of total income while the bottom 50 percent takes 12 percent.

• Income inequality over the past three decades

"Estimates of inequalities in Turkey are very limited: the country's transparency index is 3/20. Sources suggest that after a decline in inequality during the 1980-1990s, inequality has risen over the past 15 years. The recent economic slowdown (2018-2021) has depressed the average incomes of all population groups.

• Wealth inequality

"In the last 25 years, national wealth in Turkey has more than doubled, to 39,100 Euro today (121,160 TRY). In terms of wealth, Turkey appears to be more unequal than other countries with comparable wealth levels. Today, the bottom 50 percent, middle 40 percent and top 10 percent respectively hold 4 percent, 29 percent and 67 percent of total national wealth. This means that there is still a high number of very poor people, with the bottom 50 percent holding on average less than 2,900 Euro (or 8,910 TRY).

• Gender inequality

"The average female labor income share in Turkey is equal to 23 percent. This is higher than in MENA countries (where women earn on average 15 percent of the total) but lower than neighboring European countries including Greece (37 percent) and Bulgaria (43 percent).

"After stagnating between 1990 and 2005, women's earnings in the country have since gone up by six percentage points.

• Carbon inequality

"Average carbon emissions in Turkey are around 6 tCO2e/capita. While the bottom 50 percent of the population emit just under 3.1 tons, the top 10 percent emit seven times more (22.6 tCO2e/capita). With the general increase in living standards in the early 21st century, carbon emissions have slightly increased in Turkey (by around one tonne since 1990)."

Income, wealth inequalities around the world

The report has also shared details about the income and wealth inequality prevalent around the world. Some highlights are as follows:

"An average adult individual earns 16,700 Euro (23,380 USD) per year in 2021, and the average adult owns 72,900 Euro (102,600 Euro).

These averages mask wide disparities both between and within countries. The richest 10 percent of the global population currently takes 52 percent of global income, whereas the poorest half of the population earns 8 percent of it. On average, an individual from the top 10 percent of the global income distribution earns 87,200 Euro (122,100 USD) per year, whereas an individual from the poorest half of the global income distribution makes 2,800 Euro (3,920 USD) per year.

"Global wealth inequalities are even more pronounced than income inequalities. The poorest half of the global population barely owns any wealth at all, possessing just 2 percent of the total. In contrast, the richest 10 percent of the global population own 76 percent of all wealth. On average, the poorest half of the population owns 2,900 Euro per adult, i.e. 4,100 USD and the top 10 percent own 550,900 Euro (or 771,300 USD) on average.

MENA: The most unequal region

"Inequality varies significantly between the most equal region (Europe) and the most unequal (Middle East and North Africa i.e. MENA).

"In Europe, the top 10 percent income share is around 36 percent, whereas in MENA it reaches 58 percent. In between these two levels, we see a diversity of patterns. In East Asia, the top 10 percent makes 43 percent of total income and in Latin America, 55 percent.

'Inequality is a political choice, not inevitable'

"Income and wealth inequalities have been on the rise nearly everywhere since the 1980s, following a series of deregulation and liberalization programs which took different forms in different countries.

The rise has not been uniform: certain countries have experienced spectacular increases in inequality (including the US, Russia and India) while others (European countries and China) have experienced relatively smaller rises. These differences, which we discussed at length in the previous edition of the World Inequality Report, confirm that inequality is not inevitable, it is a political choice.

'Inequalities close to the peak of imperialism'

"While inequality has increased within most countries, over the past two decades, global inequalities between countries have declined.

"The gap between the average incomes of the richest 10 percent of countries and the average incomes of the poorest 50 percent of countries dropped from around 50x to a little less than 40x. At the same time, inequalities increased significantly within countries.

"The gap between the average incomes of the top 10 percent and the bottom 50 percent of individuals within countries has almost doubled, from 8.5x to 15x. This sharp rise in within country inequalities has meant that despite economic catch-up and strong growth in the emerging countries, the world remains particularly unequal today.

"It also means that inequalities within countries are now even greater than the significant inequalities observed between countries.

"Global inequalities seem to be about as great today as they were at the peak of Western imperialism in the early 20th century.

"Indeed, the share of income presently captured by the poorest half of the world's people is about half what it was in 1820, before the great divergence between Western countries and their colonies.

"In other words, there is still a long way to go to undo the global economic inequalities inherited from the very unequal organization of world production between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries." (TP/SD)