The share of income going to the richest 0.1% varies widely across Europe. In some countries, it is above 6%, while the European average is 4.5%. Experts say tax systems and wage inequality are key factors behind these differences.
So which countries give the largest share of income to this group — roughly one in every 1,000 people?
Data from the World Inequality Database shows the income share of this ultra-rich group ranges from 1.6% in the Netherlands to 10.2% in Georgia across 35 countries, including EU members, candidates, EFTA members, and the UK.
The figures reflect 2024 or the latest available year after 2020, except for Italy, where the most recent data is from 2015. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.
Among EU countries, Estonia has the highest share at 8.3%, followed by Bulgaria (7.5%) and Poland (7%).
Two EU candidate countries are also above 6%: Serbia (6.9%) and Turkey (6.1%).
Denmark (5.8%) and Romania (5.1%) are also above 5%.
Why the differences?
Dr Pawel Bukowski from University College London says policies and institutions play a key role.
“Countries might differ in the extent of redistribution, that is, how much we try to influence incomes through taxes and social policies,” he told Euronews Business.
“In this respect, Central and Eastern Europe has quite a low level of redistribution. For instance, the taxation system in Poland is regressive, that is, the rich pay relatively less than the poor,”
He also noted that many social policies are designed in a way that does not necessarily equalise incomes.
Excluding Italy, the four largest economies cluster closely together, with ultra-rich groupsholding very similar shares: Spain (5%), Germany (4.9%), the UK (4.9%) and France (4.9%).
Ireland (4.8%) sits just behind them, slightly above the European average of 4.5%.
At the lower end, several countries cluster closely together. The Netherlands has the lowest share at 1.6%, followed by Cyprus (2.2%), Montenegro (2.3%), Slovenia (2.3%), Belgium (2.3%), Albania (2.4%) and Latvia (2.4%), all below 2.5%.
The latest figure for Italy in the WID is 2.0%, but this dates back to 2015 and may not be directly comparable. A study published by the WID by Guzzardi and Morelli puts the figure at 3.3% for 2021.
The income share of the richest 0.1% ranges between 3.5% and 4.5% in Greece (4.5%), Switzerland (4.3%), Czechia (4.2%), Sweden (3.7%), Finland (3.5%) and Norway (3.5%).
Dr Salvatore Morelli from the University of Roma Tre noted thathigher top income shares in some countries may partly reflect genuinely higher concentration of wages, business income and wealth ownership (which generates capital income in turn), especially following the economic transitions of the 1990s.
However, they may also reflect differences in pension systems, tax reporting rules, informality, and the extent to which capital incomes are observed in administrative data.
Wage compression and stronger collective bargaining
“Research suggests that countries with stronger wage compression, stronger collective bargaining institutions, lower unemployment and more extensive social insurance systems tend to reduce the pre-tax income gap between top earners and the rest of the population,” Morelli told Euronews Business.
“This may help explain why Scandinavian and several Western European countries often record lower top income shares than many post-transition economies.”
Is the income share of the richest on the rise?
In Europe, the richest 0.1% took a 6.43% share of income in 1940. That figure fell steadily, dropping to around 2.7% by the early 1980s.
It then rose again, nearing 5% in 2007, before the financial crisis pulled it back down. Since around 2010 it has stayed relatively flat, standing at 4.54% in 2024.
