Gini coefficient

Noun

Gini coefficient (plural Gini coefficients)

1. A measure of the inequality of a statistical distribution, ranging from 0 (total equality) to 1 (maximal inequality), used in various disciplines but especially in economics to compare incomes or wealth.
   • China is still only eighty-ninth in the world in per capita GNP, and its Gini coefficient of economic inequality is higher than those of the two other countries to which it is often compared—the United States and India.2014, Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Introduction, in Can China Lead?: Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth, Harvard Business Publishing, →ISBN, page x
   • One big problem with the Gini coefficient, however, is getting an intuitive feel for what it actually means. It's easy enough to picture a country with a Gini coefficient of zero—there, everyone gets exactly the same income.2020, Tim Harford, “Rule four”, in How to Make the World Add Up, Bridge Street Press, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   Gini index, Gini ratio