Income discrepancy in Romania is third-widest among EU Member States

Romania registers one of the widest gaps in the EU between high and low incomes among the population: the average income of the richest 10% of Romanians (tenth decile) is 4.88 times higher than that of the poorest 10% (first decile), according to Eurostat data from 2022 compiled by Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The gap slightly narrowed from 6.5x in 2015.

For comparison, this ratio was 3.6x in the European Union in 2022.

Bulgaria shows the widest discrepancy (5.5x), while Letonia (4.9x) is close to Romania in this regard.

At the opposite pole, the smallest gaps between the highest and lowest incomes among the population (below 3) are recorded in Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Finland.

Between 2010 and 2015, the income gap in Romania increased from 5.2 to 6.5. After 2015, the trend was downward, with the lowest incomes growing faster than the highest, but nevertheless, the country continues to register among the largest income gaps in the EU.

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