extreme inequality

The coronavirus pandemic has swept across a world that was already profoundly unequal.The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2020 shows that no country in the world was doing enough to tackle inequality prior to the pandemic. This is helping to fuel the crisis and has increased the vulnerability of people living in poverty, especially women.

Inequality between the richest and the rest in Malawi continues to rise, with poverty remaining extreme and endemic. This report presents a vision, roadmap and policy recommendations for a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous Malawi. It shows that inequality is not inevitable but the result of policy choices made by those with power.

The evidence is clear: Trump's tax cuts are looting the US treasury to enrich the 1 percent. The choices of government leaders around the world are fueling the inequality crisis to frightening levels.

Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth, according to a new Oxfam report released today.

Dangerous, poorly paid work for the many is supporting extreme wealth for the few. Women are in the worst work, and almost all the super-rich are men. Governments must create a more equal society by prioritizing ordinary workers and small-scale food producers instead of the rich and powerful.

Lan, 32, works in a factory in southern Vietnam, which produces shoes for global fashion brands. She works six days a week for at least nine hours a day, earning around $1 per hour. Read her story and stand with her in the fight against inequality.

Extreme inequality is out of control in Kenya. Less than 0.1% of the population (8,300 people) own more wealth than the bottom 99.9% (more than 44 million people). Tackling inequality could help to lift millions out of poverty, secure sustainable economic growth and bring the country together.

Despite an impressive economic growth since 2005, poverty still affects millions of people’s lives in Kenya. But extreme inequality is not inevitable, it is a matter of political choice. The Kenyan government can reduce it to sustainable levels and ensure a more equal and prosperous future for all Kenyans.

When global corporations and the super-rich use tax havens to avoid paying their fair share, it is the poorest countries and people who lose most. This briefing lists five actions governments can take to tackle tax avoidance and end the era of tax havens.

Despite being one of largest economies, Brazil is listed as one of the most unequal countries in the world. Although it has left millions of people out of poverty over the last decades, it still faces a huge gap between the country’s richest and the rest of the population. Learn more and support Oxfam's work on inequality.