Inequality increased once again in Brazil in 2025 after reaching its historical low in 2024, as the earnings of the wealthiest grew at a significantly faster pace than those of the poorest.
The Gini coefficient for per capita income—the world’s primary indicator of inequality—rose from 0.504 in 2024 to 0.511 last year in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) released this Friday.
While the level of inequality remains below that recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase reflects a partial reversal of the improvements observed in recent years and demonstrates that this historical problem remains severe in the Latin American giant.
According to the IBGE, this reversal was due to the fact that the income of the poorest 10% increased by 3.1% in real terms compared to 2024, while the income of the wealthiest 10% advanced by 8.7%, nearly triple that rate.
Read more: Extreme heat threatens agriculture and food security in Brazil
Furthermore, in 2025, the wealthiest 10% of the population concentrated 40.3% of the country’s total household income mass—a proportion higher than the combined total accumulated by the 70% of Brazilians with the lowest incomes.
On the other hand, the average income of the wealthiest 10% was equivalent to 13.8 times that of the poorest 40%, compared to a ratio of 13.2 times in 2024.
Despite the deterioration recorded over the last year, the long-term outlook points to a relative improvement for lower-income sectors. Since 2019, the income of the poorest 10% has seen a cumulative real growth of 78.7%, compared to an 11.9% increase recorded among the wealthiest.
The Government attributes this structural improvement to a strengthening labor market, increases in the minimum wage, and the expansion of social programs in recent years.
Read more: Brazil: police operation against PCC leaves 200 tourists trapped (with video)
The study also revealed that inequality rose despite the fact that the average income of Brazilians hit a record high last year.
The real average monthly income for Brazilians reached 3,367 reais (approximately 580 euros) last year, a 5.4% increase over the previous year and the highest level since the data series began in 2012.
Household per capita income also reached a historical peak at 2,264 reais per month (approximately 390 euros), while 67.2% of the country’s 212.7 million inhabitants declared having some form of income—the highest percentage ever recorded.
The agency warned that despite the cumulative progress made since the pandemic, Brazil remains a country with “quite sharp” levels of inequality.
