收入差距最大的10个国家

Oxfam recently hit headlines with their report that the combined wealth of the 85 richest people in the world was equal to more than the wealth of the bottom 50% of people worldwide – that’s just 85 people with more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion people in the world. This stunning figure has thrown the issue of income inequality into the limelight, and to the forefront of economic debate. An examination of the way in which wealth is distributed in a country gives a valuable insight into the state of the economy and the well-being of the nation’s majority. Income inequality is quantified via the Gini coefficient – where 0 is a state of absolute equality, when everyone holds the same amount of wealth, and 1 is absolute inequality, when 1 person holds all the wealth. Every country will fall between these two extremes; and some well-developed countries are (perhaps surprisingly) far from the 0 mark.

乐施会（牛津饥荒救济委员会）最近报导说，世界上85位最富有的人的财富与全球50％贫困人口的财富相当，即这85人的财富超过了全球约35亿贫困人口的财富。这个惊人的数字使收入不平等的问题成为了万众瞩目的焦点，也成为了经济辩论的前沿话题。考察一个国家财富分配的方式能让人们对这个国家的经济状况，人民福祉有一个宝贵的认识。收入不均等的情况可以通过基尼系数来量化，其中0是绝对平等的状态，即每个人拥有相同的财富；1表示绝对不平等，即一个人拥有所有的财富。每个国家都会落在这两个极值之间; 很有可能一些发达国家的基尼系数与0值相去甚远。

  

What happens when a country has high income inequality? If the division of wealth sees a small group of people holding the majority of a nation’s capital, the balance of power is skewed; the lower and middle classes have access to less capital, fewer resources and – consequently – a low chance of breaking out of the cycle of poverty. While some experts’ opinions vary on what constitutes optimal wealth distribution, many agree that the Gini index is one reliable indicator of the health and vitality of a county.

当一个国家的收入差距很大时会发生什么呢？如果财富分配让一小部分人拥有一个国家大部分资金，权力的平衡就会被打破; 中下阶层只能获得更少的资金和资源，因此他们要走出贫困这个圈子的机会也更渺茫。虽然一些专家对于最佳财富分配的构成意见不一，但许多人认为基尼系数是一个表明国家经济健康和活力程度的可靠指标。

 

Which countries in the world today have the highest level of income inequality? We’ve had a look at the Gini coefficient after taxes and transfers (pensions, government programs and other equalizers) are taken into consideration, providing rankings which look at the real spending power of the people. Specifically, our rankings come from data collected from countries that are part of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development). At the beginning of this decade, the OECD released a report stating that income inequality was at its highest level in over 50 years, and these figures demonstrate that level of high inequality – even in some of the world’s most well-developed, wealthiest countries. It’s worth noting, however, that African countries are not members of the OECD and these are some of the countries with the most extreme income inequality in the world, with parts of the continent reportedly holding a Gini coefficient of up to 0.7. But of the OECD countries, these 10 are the nations with the most marked inequality of wealth distribution.

今天世界上哪些国家的收入差距最高呢？下面考察的基尼系数为税后的，并且将资金转移（养老金，政府计划和其他类似的投资项目）也列入考察范围，这样的排名能看到人们真正的消费能力。具体来说，我们的排名基于经合组织（经济合作与发展组织）部分国家收集的数据。大约十年前，经合组织发表了一份报告，指出收入不平等在未来的50多年里将达到最高水平，这些数字还表明，收入差距的严峻形势甚至出现在世界上一些最发达、最富有的国家。不过值得注意的是，非洲国家不是经合组织的成员国，但是这些国家是全世界收入差距最为极端的一些国家，非洲大陆部分地区的基尼系数高达0.7。但是在经合组织国家中，以下这10个国家的财富分配最不平等。

 

10. Japan: 0.336

10. 日本：0.336

Japan has a saying “ichioku-sohchu-ryu” which translates to “a nation of middle-class people.” However, in the past few decades, they’ve seen the middle-class shrinking at twice the average rate of other OECD countries. Since 1980, incomes have dropped for the lower classes while they’ve risen for those in the higher classes. And this problem is exacerbated by the lack of employment security. During Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s term (2001-2006), the number of people working regular jobs dropped by 1.9 million while numbers of those in temporary positions rose by 3.3 million. Since the middle-class started disappearing, there’s been a reported increase in depression, domestic violence and suicide – which indicates the toll the economy has taken on the people.

日本有句俗语“ichikku-sohchu-ryu”，翻译过来是“一个中产阶级的国家”的意思。但是在过去的几十年里，日本中产阶级的缩减是其他经合组织国家平均水平的两倍之多。自1980年以来，下层阶层的收入减少，而上层阶层的收入则相应增加。这个问题也因为缺乏就业安全而愈演愈烈。日本首相小泉纯一郎执政期间（2001-2006），固定岗位的人数下降了190万，而临时职位的人数则增加了330万人次。自从中产阶级开始消失以来，关于抑郁症，家庭暴力和自杀事件的报道日益增加，这表明了经济对人民造成的伤害之大。

 

9. Greece: 0.337

9. 希腊：0.337

Income inequality in Greece had been on the decline for several years, but in 2010 it shot back up again. It’s still better than it has been since 1999, when it was at its highest point in the last couple of decades. Greece is second only to Mexico for the number of hours people work per year, but the country was hit hard by the Global Financial Crisis when the number of unemployed skyrocketed between 2008 and 2013. Greece have had issues with massive tax evasion and false economic statistics, which effectively covered up the extent to which the country was in debt: This has led to catastrophic problems which are taking some time to clean up. Greece’s economy has been aided by massive bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund but the state of the economy, and a high level of wealth inequality, means the majority of the Greek citizens are likely struggling financially.

希腊的收入差距几年来一直在缩减，但在2010年再次回升。希腊在1999年到达过去几十年中收入差距的最高点，现在稍有好转。在人们每年工作时间长度上，希腊仅次于墨西哥，但由于全球金融危机，希腊损失惨重，在2008年至2013年间失业人数急剧上升。希腊还出现了严重的逃税和虚假经济报账问题，这有效地掩盖了希腊的债务情况：但也导致了一些灾难性的问题，这些问题需要花费不少时间来处理。希腊的经济虽然得到了欧盟和国际货币基金组织的大规模救助，但是这个国家的经济状况以及财富极度的不平等都意味着大多数希腊公民将仍然会在经济上苦苦挣扎。

 

8. Spain: 0.338

8. 西班牙：0.338

There’s been a dramatic increase in poverty and hunger in Spain since 2008, another European country to be hit hard by the GFC. Salaries are being frozen or even cut in 2014, while the country announces a steep increase in rates for electricity, water and transportation. Spain has the second highest unemployment rate in Europe, and the number of people living in poverty has doubled since 2008. The economy looks likely to see some improvements in 2014, however most of that will be based on exports – and experts warn that it could take years before any benefit from it trickles down to those who are currently struggling to survive.

西班牙是另一个受到全球经济危机打击的欧洲国家，自2008年以来，其贫穷和饥饿现象急剧增加。在2014年，人民的工资被冻结甚至被削减，而国家还宣布水、电和交通的费用大幅度上升。西班牙是欧洲失业率第二高的国家，自2008年以来，贫困人口翻了一番。2014年西班牙经济看起来似乎有所改善，但大部分资金来自出口，专家警告说，可能还需要很多年才能让那些当下在为生计挣扎的人们从中获益。

 

7. United Kingdom: 0.341

7. 英国：0.341

The United Kingdom’s Gini coefficient is the highest it has been in the last 30 years. In fact, the bottom 10% of the population hasn’t seen a rise in income at all in the last decade. That means, of course, that when adjusted for inflation the poorest 10% in Britain are at a much lower income now than they were ten years ago. The richest Brits now control 31% of the income, with the poorest 10% claiming just over 1% of the country’s wealth.

英国的基尼系数是过去30年来最高的。事实上，最近十年来，处于经济收入末端10％的人口在收入上根本没有增加。也这就是说，当通货膨胀出现时，现在英国10％最贫穷的人的收入相比十年前要低得多。而现在最富有的英国人控制了31％的收入，而10％最贫穷的的人表明才拥有刚刚超过英国1％的财富。

 

6. Portugal: 0.344

6. 葡萄牙：0.344

Portugal may be sixth on our list, but it has the highest income inequality of any developed country in the EU. Portugal had made progress in regards to the problem of wealth inequality, but a lot of that progress was offset by the economic crisis that hit in the early 2000s. Part of the problem is that the poorest people in Portugal are stuck in a poverty cycle. The country suffers from a lack of educated workers: Only 30% of adults have attended secondary school, which is far lower than the EU average of 74%. As with many countries, while unemployment remains high, positions still remain unfilled due to the lack of workers with the right qualifications.

葡萄牙在这份名单上排在第六位，但在欧盟，它的收入差距比其他发达国家都要大。葡萄牙在财富不平等问题上取得了一些进展，但很大程度上被21世纪初期的经济危机消磨殆尽。一部分问题是葡萄牙最贫穷的人口陷在了一个贫穷的循环周期。葡萄牙缺乏受过教育的工人：只有30％的成年人中学毕业，远远低于欧盟74％的平均水平。与许多国家一样，葡萄牙虽然失业率很高，但由于缺乏具有合格资格的工人，许多职位仍有空缺。

 

5. Israel: 0.376

5. 以色列：0.376

Israel has a trickier situation than most. For one thing, not only is their significant income inequality between the rich and the poor, there’s also a disparity between the Arabs and the Jews. In fact, over half of all Arab families in the country are classified as ‘poor’ in stark contrast to the wider figures – just over 20% of all families in Israel are classified as ‘poor’. There were protests in 2011 over the income gap, mostly focusing on the tycoons who monopolised most of the wealth in the country. The result was that parliament voted to break up the conglomerates. So with one bill, the government hopes to fix some of the issues with inequality – but only time will tell how much good the measure will do.

以色列的情况比起其他国家更加棘手。一方面，不但穷人与富人之间的收入差距很大，而且阿拉伯人和犹太人的收入之间也存在差距。事实上，全国有超过一半的阿拉伯家庭被列为“穷人”之伍，与之形成鲜明对比的是，在以色列只有20％多一点的家庭被列为“穷人”。以色列在2011年出现了关于收入差距的抗议活动，主要是抗议垄断该国大部分财富的大亨们。结果是议会投票决定打击这个集团。所以政府希望通过一个法案来解决一些不平等的问题——但只有时间才能证明这一措施是否行之有效。

 

4. United States: 0.38

4. 美国：0.38

It’s hard to imagine the United States being so high on this list, but truthfully, the US hasn’t seen such large income disparity since 1928. And if you thought some of the other countries had it bad in regards to numbers, these numbers will no doubt serve to shock: From 2009 to 2012, the top 1% in the U.S. claimed 95% of gains from the economic recovery. And the rest of country, the other 99%? They only saw income growth of 0.4% while their richer counterparts saw their incomes rise by over 30%. While the economy is superficially showing recovery from the Global Financial Crisis, the reality is that the lower classes are not recovering nearly as fast as that top 1%.

很难想象美国竟然会在这个名单上居于高位，但事实上，美国自1928年以来收入差距并不是很大。如果你认为其他一些国家在排名上名不副实，这些排名背后的真相无疑将会令人震惊：从2009年到2012年，美国收入前1％的人声称在经济复苏中获得了95％的收益。而剩下99％的人呢？他们的收入只增长了0.4％，而更富有的人则在收入上增长了30％以上。虽然在表面上看，美国经济已从全球金融危机中复苏，但实际情况是底层阶级的收入回升速度几乎不及前1％的人。

 

3. Turkey: 0.411

3. 土耳其：0.411

While still high on our list, Turkey is actually one of two countries that did see a decrease in wealth inequality in recent years, Greece being the second. Some analysts partially blame the tax code for the inequality problem, considering that two thirds of the income comes from indirect taxes like sales tax – as opposed to income taxes, which would make sure the wealthy pay their fair share. The sales taxes seem skewed in favour of the wealthy, as certain luxury items have lower taxes and some items such as precious gemstones have no tax whatsoever. Add to the mix other issues such as a high unemployment rate and less opportunities for women and it’s easy to see why the wealth distribution is quite so unequal in Turkey.

虽然排名靠前，但土耳其其实是近两年来财富不平等现象减少的两个国家之一，希腊则是另一个。一些分析师指责税法是导致了收入不平等的部分原因，考虑到三分之二的收入来自销售税等间接税——而不是所得税，这将确保富人支付他们的公平份额。销售税似乎更有利于富人，因为某些奢侈品税收较低，而有些宝石等物品甚至没有任何税收。再加上其他问题，比如失业率高，女性工作机会较少，很容易明白为什么土耳其的财富分配会如此不平等。

 

2. Mexico: 0.466

2. 墨西哥：0.466

It probably comes as no surprise that Mexico is high up on the list, but one thing that might surprise you is that even with the huge income gap, Mexicans are some of the hardest workers in the world. In fact, they spend about 10 hours per day working while China, for example, works an average of about 8 hours per day and U.S. workers clock in an average of 8.5 hours daily. Even with the amount of hours Mexican workers put in, the top 10% still make over 30 times more than the poorest 10%. Mexico faces many unique challenges, including drug cartels which the government has a hard time controlling. The current administration has said they will focus more on poverty, so the income gap may be set to narrow in coming years.

墨西哥高居前位可能并不奇怪，但有一件令人惊讶的事情是，即使有巨大的收入差距，墨西哥人也是世界上最努力的工人群体之一。事实上，他们每天花费约10个小时工作，而中国工人每天平均工作约8小时，美国工人每天平均工作时间为8.5个小时。即使墨西哥工人投入的时间多，前10％富人的收入仍然比最贫穷的10％的人多出30倍以上。墨西哥还面临许多特殊的挑战，包括政府难以控制的贩毒集团。目前政府部门表示会更多地关注贫困问题，所以今后几年收入差距可能会缩小。

 

1. Chile: 0.501

1. 智利：0.501

With a Gini coefficient of 0.501, Chile tops our list of countries with the most serious problem of inequality. Several factors contribute to this problem, including issues with higher education. While this has improved in recent years – many more Chileans are getting a college degree than before – most of those who land graduate jobs come from the richest schools in the country. Many of the poor go to cheaper colleges, hoping that they’ll still have the same opportunities as other graduates – only to leave college with mounting student loan debt and jobs that pay scarcely enough to cover those debts. There are several bills on the table to help improve the education system, but many of them aren’t moving very fast due to wealthy universities lobbying against them. Education isn’t the only problem, though. In fact, many of the industries in Chile are run by oligopolies. Add to this corruption from the wealthy who cover up their income, and few restrictions on interest rates for credit cards, and you have a nation with one of the most unequal wealth distributions in the world.

智利的基尼系数是0.501，在这份排名中列于首位，是收入不平等现象最严重的国家。有几个因素导致了智利的收入不平等，包括高等教育问题。虽然近年来有所改善——比起以前，更多的智利人获得大学学位，但是大部分毕业就能找到就业岗位的都来自全国最富有的学校。许多穷人去廉价的大学，但仍然希望他们可以拥有与其他毕业生相同的机会——最后只有带着高额的学生贷款离开学校，而他们微薄的工资几乎不足以支付这些债务。有一些法案可以帮助改善教育制度，但由于一些资金充裕的大学大肆游说，这些法案只能暂时搁置，不得顺利实施。教育并不是唯一的问题，事实上，智利的许多行业都是由寡头企业垄断经营的。再加上富人们贪污腐败，隐瞒实际收入，加之对信用卡利率的限制很少，智利就成了世界上财富分配最不平等的国家之一了。

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