Gross and net income ratio of top 20 percent to bottom 20 percent in the EU 2022

The ratio of the top 20 percents' income to that of the bottom 20 percent of earners is a common way to measure income inequality. In the European Union, this ratio was 9.47 before taxes and 7.98 after taxes in 2022. The EU country with the highest ratio of high earners to low earners was Ireland, which had a pre-tax ratio of 15.48 and post-taxes and transfers a ratio of 12.27. Many European countries are known for their progressive taxation systems and strong social benefits, meaning that post-taxes and social transfers, their income inequality is much lower than what it is in gross terms. This is particularly the case for countries such as Germany, which has the fourth-highest gross income inequality between its highest earners and lowest earners, but has the ninth-highest inequality ratio when taxes and transfers are factored in. The country with the smallest disparity between high and low earners in Europe was Slovakia in 2022, with a gross ratio of 4.56 and a net ratio of 4.18.

收入不平等的一个常用衡量标准是最高20%收入群体与最低20%收入群体收入之比。在欧洲联盟，2022年的这一比率在税前为9.47，税后为7.98。在欧盟国家中，爱尔兰的税前高收入与低收入群体比率最高，达到15.48，税后及转移支付后的比率为12.27。许多欧洲国家以其累进税制和强大的社会福利体系而闻名，这意味着在考虑税后及社会转移支付后，其收入不平等程度远低于毛收入水平。德国便是其中一例，尽管其在最高收入群体与最低收入群体之间的毛收入不平等程度位居第四，但在考虑税收及转移支付后的不平等比率却高居第九。2022年，欧洲收入差距最小的国家为斯洛伐克，其毛收入比率为4.56，净收入比率为4.18。