Japan: Income share held by highest 10%

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Japan's income share held by highest 10% fell 0.4 percentage points on 2019 (from 24.7% to 24.3%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was −0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.7 percentage points in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.1 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 2% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Japan in the 2020 ranking

• Australia — 1st of 5: 25.9%
• Albania — 3rd of 5: 22.8%
• Ukraine — 4th of 5: 21.7%
• Belarus — 5th of 5: 20.7%

What this measures

Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.

Limitations: Despite progress in the last decade, the challenges of measuring poverty remain. The timeliness, frequency, quality, and comparability of household surveys need to increase substantially, particularly in the poorest countries. The availability and quality of poverty monitoring data remains low in small states, countries with fragile situations, and low-income countries and even some middle-income countries. The low frequency and lack of comparability of the data available in some countries create uncertainty over the magnitude of poverty reduction. Besides the frequency and timeliness of survey data, other data quality issues arise in measuring household living standards.

All 13 values

Income share held by highest 10% in nearby economies

• Australia — 25.9% (2020)
• China — 28.4% (2022)
• Indonesia — 28.7% (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — 25% (2021)
• Malaysia — 30.9% (2021)
• Mongolia — 24.6% (2022)
• Philippines — 31.6% (2023)
• Thailand — 26% (2024)
• Viet Nam — 28.1% (2022)

More poverty data for Japan

• Income share held by second 20% — 13% (2020)
• Income share held by third 20% — 17.6% (2020)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 23.2% (2020)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 39.4% (2020)
• Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) — 13.4% (2020)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 2.3% (2020)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 6.8% (2020)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 1.2% (2020)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 0.5% (2020)
• Gini index

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Questions people ask

What is Japan's income share held by highest 10%?

24.3% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is down 1.6 percentage points from 25.9% in 2008. The highest value was 25.9% in 2008 and the lowest 23.7% in 2013.

Is the latest change in income share held by highest 10% unusual for Japan?

In 2020, Japan's income share held by highest 10% fell 0.4 percentage points on 2019 (from 24.7% to 24.3%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was −0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.DST.10TH.10, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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