Narrowing income inequality: How does the Philippines compare in the region?

The infographic shows select East and Southeast Asian countries’ “20:20” ratios, which measure the extent of income inequality in an economy by comparing income held by the richest 20% of households to that of the poorest 20%. The income of the richest 20% Filipinos was more than seven times greater than that of the poorest 20% in 2021, latest data from the World Bank showed. It was the second highest in the region after Malaysia’s 8.30 in 2018. Despite this, the Philippines’ ratio was better than 10.53 in 2000 — the earliest period with available data. It was the third-largest improvement in the region, behind Thailand and Malaysia.