Greece is in the middle of the rankings in Europe on the distribution of wealth, according to recent statistics by the Global Wealth Databook.
Wealth inequality between countries across Europe is very strong. In the EU, the difference in wealth per adult between the countries with the highest and lowest levels exceeds a factor of ten.
The wealthiest 10 percent on the continent own a staggering 67 percent of the wealth, while the bottom half of adults possess only 1.2 percent of it.
Net worth or “wealth” is defined as the value of financial assets plus real assets (principally housing) that households own, minus their debts.
Looking at wealth distribution across European countries, the data shows a considerable variation in the percentage of adults falling within different wealth ranges, highlighting economic inequalities and differences in financial stability among nations.
Greece’s position in the distribution of wealth ranking
In Greece, 22.3 percent have a wealth of less than $10 thousand. 51.4 percent have a wealth of between $10 and $100 thousand and 25.4 percent are in the $101 thousand to $1 million bracket. Less than 1 percent are millionaires.
In Cyprus – which is according to the statistics a more unequal society in terms of wealth – 19 percent have a wealth of less than $10 thousand, 54.6 percent have a wealth of between $10 and $100 thousand, and 24.2 are in the $101 thousand to $1 million bracket. More than 2 percent (2.2) are millionaires.
The unequal wealth distribution is measured by the Gini coefficient and the share of the top percentiles: the higher the Gini coefficient, the more wealth inequality there is, with 0 representing complete equality.
Among the 36 European countries studied wealth inequality in 2022 ranged from 50.8 in Slovakia to 87.4 in Sweden.
The Gini index of inequality
Excluding Iceland, wealth inequality was fairly high across the Nordic countries. Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden all came in the top half of the table, with Sweden topping the list altogether.
Germany had the highest wealth inequality score (77.2) among the EU’s “Big Four” economic powers, followed by France (70.3), Spain (68.3) and Italy (67.8). The UK, a former EU member still considered one of the “Big Four” within Europe, had a score of 70.2.
Belgium (59.6), Malta (60.9) and Slovenia (64.4) followed Slovakia in having the least wealth inequality.
Across 21 European countries with available data, significant wealth disparities exist among the top percentiles, including the richest decile, top 5 percent, and top 1 percent.
Looking at the richest decile in 2022, Sweden had the highest wealth inequality, where the top 10% owned 74.4 percent of the wealth. Belgium had the lowest inequality value at 43.5 percent.
The richest decile owned over half of the wealth in every country except for Belgium.
Among the EU’s “Big Four”, Germany had the highest wealth inequality, where the richest 10 percent owned 63 percent of the wealth, followed by France (54.9 percent), Spain (53.8 percent) and Italy (53.5 percent). The UK had a lower figure than all these four countries at 53.3 percent. Greece is in the middle of the rankings: The top 10 percent owned 55.1 percent of the wealth.
Excluding Germany, the richest decile in Europe’s four economic powerhouses had comparatively lower inequality figures among the 21 countries. of the wealth, followed by France (54.9 percent), Spain (53.8 percent) and Italy (53.5 percent). The UK had a lower figure than all these four countries at 53.3 percent.
Related: World’s Five Richest Men Doubled Their Wealth Since 2020
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