Inequality in Europe: bottom 50 percent share of wealth in major economies 1995-2021

Many of Europe's largest economies have seen falling shares of their national wealth taken by the bottom 50 percent of the wealth distribution since the 1990s. Italy in particular stands out as a particularly stark case, as the bottom half owned around 10 percent of the wealth in the country in 1995, while in 2021 they owned only 2.5 percent. Russia is the other country which has seen a consistent decline in the wealth of its poorest 50 percent, with the economic crises of the 1990s causing the poor to rapidly lose their share of wealth, but without any recovery during the years of economic success in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom have seen more moderate decreases in the bottom 50 percent share, with Spain and the UK in fact showing increases in their shares during the early 2000s, as their respective housing booms inflated the wealth of the poorest, before retracting during the financial crisis and great recession. 

Turkey stands out as an outlier among the large European economies, as the share taken by its bottom half has more than tripled since the 1990s, now having a higher share than in Russia and Italy. This period in Turkey has been marked by rapid economic growth, modernization, and urbanization, some of which has benefitted the poorest by providing new economic opportunities.