收入差距最大的10個國家

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.

樂施會（牛津饑荒救濟委員會）最近報導說，世界上85位最富有的人的財富與全球50％貧困人口的財富相當，即這85人的財富超過了全球約35億貧困人口的財富。這個驚人的數字使收入不平等的問題成爲了萬衆矚目的焦點，也成爲了經濟辯論的前沿話題。考察一個國家財富分配的方式能讓人們對這個國家的經濟狀況，人民福祉有一個寶貴的認識。收入不均等的情況可以通過基尼係數來量化，其中0是絕對平等的狀態，即每個人擁有相同的財富；1表示絕對不平等，即一個人擁有所有的財富。每個國家都會落在這兩個極值之間; 很有可能一些發達國家的基尼係數與0值相去甚遠。

  

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.

當一個國家的收入差距很大時會發生什麼呢？如果財富分配讓一小部分人擁有一個國家大部分資金，權力的平衡就會被打破; 中下階層只能獲得更少的資金和資源，因此他們要走出貧困這個圈子的機會也更渺茫。雖然一些專家對於最佳財富分配的構成意見不一，但許多人認爲基尼係數是一個表明國家經濟健康和活力程度的可靠指標。

 

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.

今天世界上哪些國家的收入差距最高呢？下面考察的基尼係數爲稅後的，並且將資金轉移（養老金，政府計劃和其他類似的投資項目）也列入考察範圍，這樣的排名能看到人們真正的消費能力。具體來說，我們的排名基於經合組織（經濟合作與發展組織）部分國家收集的數據。大約十年前，經合組織發表了一份報告，指出收入不平等在未來的50多年裏將達到最高水平，這些數字還表明，收入差距的嚴峻形勢甚至出現在世界上一些最發達、最富有的國家。不過值得注意的是，非洲國家不是經合組織的成員國，但是這些國家是全世界收入差距最爲極端的一些國家，非洲大陸部分地區的基尼係數高達0.7。但是在經合組織國家中，以下這10個國家的財富分配最不平等。

 

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.

日本有句俗語“ichikku-sohchu-ryu”，翻譯過來是“一箇中產階級的國家”的意思。但是在過去的幾十年裏，日本中產階級的縮減是其他經合組織國家平均水平的兩倍之多。自1980年以來，下層階層的收入減少，而上層階層的收入則相應增加。這個問題也因爲缺乏就業安全而愈演愈烈。日本首相小泉純一郎執政期間（2001-2006），固定崗位的人數下降了190萬，而臨時職位的人數則增加了330萬人次。自從中產階級開始消失以來，關於抑鬱症，家庭暴力和自殺事件的報道日益增加，這表明了經濟對人民造成的傷害之大。

 

9. Greece: 0.337

9. 希臘：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.

希臘的收入差距幾年來一直在縮減，但在2010年再次回升。希臘在1999年到達過去幾十年中收入差距的最高點，現在稍有好轉。在人們每年工作時間長度上，希臘僅次於墨西哥，但由於全球金融危機，希臘損失慘重，在2008年至2013年間失業人數急劇上升。希臘還出現了嚴重的逃稅和虛假經濟報賬問題，這有效地掩蓋了希臘的債務情況：但也導致了一些災難性的問題，這些問題需要花費不少時間來處理。希臘的經濟雖然得到了歐盟和國際貨幣基金組織的大規模救助，但是這個國家的經濟狀況以及財富極度的不平等都意味着大多數希臘公民將仍然會在經濟上苦苦掙扎。

 

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.

西班牙是另一個受到全球經濟危機打擊的歐洲國家，自2008年以來，其貧窮和飢餓現象急劇增加。在2014年，人民的工資被凍結甚至被削減，而國家還宣佈水、電和交通的費用大幅度上升。西班牙是歐洲失業率第二高的國家，自2008年以來，貧困人口翻了一番。2014年西班牙經濟看起來似乎有所改善，但大部分資金來自出口，專家警告說，可能還需要很多年才能讓那些當下在爲生計掙扎的人們從中獲益。

 

7. United Kingdom: 0.341

7. 英國：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.

英國的基尼係數是過去30年來最高的。事實上，最近十年來，處於經濟收入末端10％的人口在收入上根本沒有增加。也這就是說，當通貨膨脹出現時，現在英國10％最貧窮的人的收入相比十年前要低得多。而現在最富有的英國人控制了31％的收入，而10％最貧窮的的人表明才擁有剛剛超過英國1％的財富。

 

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.

葡萄牙在這份名單上排在第六位，但在歐盟，它的收入差距比其他發達國家都要大。葡萄牙在財富不平等問題上取得了一些進展，但很大程度上被21世紀初期的經濟危機消磨殆盡。一部分問題是葡萄牙最貧窮的人口陷在了一個貧窮的循環週期。葡萄牙缺乏受過教育的工人：只有30％的成年人中學畢業，遠遠低於歐盟74％的平均水平。與許多國家一樣，葡萄牙雖然失業率很高，但由於缺乏具有合格資格的工人，許多職位仍有空缺。

 

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.

以色列的情況比起其他國家更加棘手。一方面，不但窮人與富人之間的收入差距很大，而且阿拉伯人和猶太人的收入之間也存在差距。事實上，全國有超過一半的阿拉伯家庭被列爲“窮人”之伍，與之形成鮮明對比的是，在以色列只有20％多一點的家庭被列爲“窮人”。以色列在2011年出現了關於收入差距的抗議活動，主要是抗議壟斷該國大部分財富的大亨們。結果是議會投票決定打擊這個集團。所以政府希望通過一個法案來解決一些不平等的問題——但只有時間才能證明這一措施是否行之有效。

 

4. United States: 0.38

4. 美國：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%.

很難想象美國竟然會在這個名單上居於高位，但事實上，美國自1928年以來收入差距並不是很大。如果你認爲其他一些國家在排名上名不副實，這些排名背後的真相無疑將會令人震驚：從2009年到2012年，美國收入前1％的人聲稱在經濟復甦中獲得了95％的收益。而剩下99％的人呢？他們的收入只增長了0.4％，而更富有的人則在收入上增長了30％以上。雖然在表面上看，美國經濟已從全球金融危機中復甦，但實際情況是底層階級的收入回升速度幾乎不及前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.

雖然排名靠前，但土耳其其實是近兩年來財富不平等現象減少的兩個國家之一，希臘則是另一個。一些分析師指責稅法是導致了收入不平等的部分原因，考慮到三分之二的收入來自銷售稅等間接稅——而不是所得稅，這將確保富人支付他們的公平份額。銷售稅似乎更有利於富人，因爲某些奢侈品稅收較低，而有些寶石等物品甚至沒有任何稅收。再加上其他問題，比如失業率高，女性工作機會較少，很容易明白爲什麼土耳其的財富分配會如此不平等。

 

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並不奇怪，但有一件令人驚訝的事情是，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羣體之一。事實上，他們每天花費約10個小時工作，而中國工人每天平均工作約8小時，美國工人每天平均工作時間爲8.5個小時。即使墨西哥工人投入的時間多，前10％富人的收入仍然比最貧窮的10％的人多出30倍以上。墨西哥還面臨許多特殊的挑戰，包括政府難以控制的販毒集團。目前政府部門表示會更多地關注貧困問題，所以今後幾年收入差距可能會縮小。

 

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.

智利的基尼係數是0.501，在這份排名中列於首位，是收入不平等現象最嚴重的國家。有幾個因素導致了智利的收入不平等，包括高等教育問題。雖然近年來有所改善——比起以前，更多的智利人獲得大學學位，但是大部分畢業就能找到就業崗位的都來自全國最富有的學校。許多窮人去廉價的大學，但仍然希望他們可以擁有與其他畢業生相同的機會——最後只有帶着高額的學生貸款離開學校，而他們微薄的工資幾乎不足以支付這些債務。有一些法案可以幫助改善教育制度，但由於一些資金充裕的大學大肆遊說，這些法案只能暫時擱置，不得順利實施。教育並不是唯一的問題，事實上，智利的許多行業都是由寡頭企業壟斷經營的。再加上富人們貪污腐敗，隱瞞實際收入，加之對信用卡利率的限制很少，智利就成了世界上財富分配最不平等的國家之一了。

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