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Published: 20 December 2016

Income differentials grew slightly in 2015

Statistics Finland's total statistics on income distribution show that income differentials grew somewhat in 2015 compared with the previous year. Real income increased in all income deciles, but less for those with medium income than for those with high and low income. The income level of the population's highest-income decile grew by 2.7 per cent in real terms from 2014 to 2015. The income of income deciles V to IX increased by 0.8 per cent. The income level of the lowest-income decile rose by 1.4 per cent.

Change in average real income (%) by income decile from 2014 to 2015

Income decile: the population is arranged according to income and divided into ten equal parts, each of which has around half a million persons. Income decile I is the lowest-income decile and income decile X the highest-income decile. Income concept: equivalent disposable monetary income of household dwelling-unit, average per person. Equivalent income: the household-dwelling unit’s income divided by its consumption units.

The Gini coefficient describing relative income differentials was 0.3 percentage points higher in 2015 than in the year before and received the value 27.3. The Gini coefficient was at its highest in 2007, compared with which it was around two percentage points smaller in 2015. Compared with 1995, the Gini coefficient has grown by around five percentage points, most of which is caused by income differentials growing fast in the late 1990s. The Gini coefficient gets the value 0 if everyone receives the same amount of income and 100 if one income earner receives all the income. The higher the Gini coefficient, the higher the income differentials are.

Development of income inequality 1995–2015, Gini coefficient (%)

Persons belonging to the household-dwelling population, the household-dwelling unit's disposable money income per consumption unit. Data for years 1995–2009 and 2010–2015 are not fully comparable. The income concept was supplemented in 2010, which lowered the Gini coefficient by 0.3 percentage points.

Source: Total statistics on income distribution, Statistics Finland

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Updated 20.12.2016