Consider now the relationship, if any, between levels of per capita income and degree of inequality. Are higher incomes associated with greater or lesser inequality, or can no definitive statement be made? Table 5.4 provides data on
income distribution in relation to per capita GNI for a sampling of countries, arranged from lowest to highest in terms of per capita income. What clearly emerges from Table 5.4 is that per capita incomes are not necessarily related to
inequality. The very poorest countries, such as Ethiopia, may have low inequality simply because there is so little income. But even very poor countries such as Mozambique and Zambia have extremely high inequality by international standards. Although many high-inequality Latin American countries are found in the middle-income range, this range also includes countries such as Egypt and Indonesia, as well as eastern European countries, with low inequality. High-income countries do tend to be somewhat more equal than middle-income countries, but again, there is wide variation in inequality levels. In recent years, there has even been a tendency for inequality to rise in high-income countries and to fall at least somewhat in several Latin American countries.