Moscow, Mar 14: Income inequality in Russia has climbed to its highest level in more than a decade, according to an analysis by an independent research group, highlighting a widening gap between the country’s richest and poorest households.
The research group, Yesli Byt Tochnim, said the inequality indicator known as the Gini Index rose to 0.419 in 2025, up from 0.410 in 2024. The latest figure marks the highest level recorded since 2012.
The group said the calculation was reconstructed using publicly available data on income distribution after Russia’s state statistics agency Rosstat published and later removed the indicator from its January 2026 social and economic report.
On the Gini Index scale, a value of 0 indicates perfect income equality while a value of 1 represents maximum inequality.
According to the analysis, income inequality in Russia has increased for four consecutive years and is now approaching the record levels of 0.421–0.422 seen between 2007 and 2010.
Additional data cited in the report suggests the income gap has continued to widen. The share of national income received by the richest 20 per cent of Russians increased from 46.9 per cent to 47.6 per cent over the past year, while the share earned by the poorest 20 per cent declined slightly from 5.3 per cent to 5.2 per cent.
The disparity is also reflected in income ratios. The average income of the richest 10 per cent of the population is now estimated to be 15.8 times higher than that of the poorest 10 per cent, compared with 15.5 times the previous year.
Russia’s leadership has previously outlined goals to reduce income inequality in the coming years. President Vladimir Putin has set targets to lower the country’s Gini Index to 0.37 by 2030 and to 0.33 by 2036.
Meanwhile, wealth concentration among the country’s richest individuals has also grown. The latest global billionaire rankings listed a record 155 Russian billionaires, whose combined net worth was estimated at nearly USD 700 billion.
Analysts say the latest data points to a continued widening of the wealth gap, raising questions about the pace of progress toward reducing inequality in the coming years.
