Quality of life · Income & wealth
As at 13 October 2026 · official data unless labelled
Income inequality: top fifth vs bottom fifth
What the numbers are telling us
The income of the top fifth relative to the bottom fifth was 5.56× in 2020, down 0.04 on the previous reading (5.6×).
It is close to its average since 2012 of 5.57×.
Across 35 OECD countries (2020), Australia ranks 22nd best of 35 on inequality, above the median of 5.04×.
Why it matters
How many times more the richest fifth of households receive than the poorest fifth.
What it should be
There is no official target, so Australia is judged against comparable countries: lower than the OECD median is better. The OECD median is 5.04×.
Every figure on this page is calculated from the stored official series (OECD, How's Life? Current well-being (OECD WISE)); the summary is written from the numbers, not edited by hand.