EU income inequality eased in 2025, Eurostat reports; gaps between countries remain

Income inequality across the European Union edged lower in 2025, according to Eurostat figures published on October 23, 2026. The EU's Gini coefficient was 29.2, compared with 29.4 in 2024, a decrease of 0.2 points. The figures describe 2025, rather than conditions measured in October 2026.

The Gini coefficient ranges from 0, representing equal incomes, to 100, representing complete concentration of income. A lower reading therefore indicates a more equal distribution under this measure; it does not by itself show that poverty has fallen or every household's income has increased.

Among EU countries, Slovakia recorded the lowest coefficient at 23.0 and Bulgaria the highest at 37.7. Belgium, Czechia, Slovenia and Poland were also among the countries with more equal distributions. Latvia and Lithuania followed Bulgaria at the higher end.

First published in English as “EU income inequality: Gini coefficient at 29.2 in 2025” by Eurostat on the European Union's Europa website: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20261023-2 . © European Union, 2026. Adaptation/translation: KROV; © KROV, 2026. Source text: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . KROV is solely responsible for this adaptation and translation; Eurostat is not responsible. In any discrepancy, the original English text prevails.