An unequal world

A new year brings with it promise and hope. And as we look forward to fresh challenges and big ideas that will come up in 2026, I can’t help but yearn for some old-world beliefs and systems. Am I triggered by nostalgia, yes! But an honest stocktaking of the world around us today will move even the most self-centred individual. The fact is that the right content is not reaching us all. Between the memes and jokes and fashion and travel reels, our daily clicks don’t allow the algorithm to show us things that matter. We have trained the virtual world to keep us within a happy, protected bubble of skin care, weight loss regimes, and salmon sperm facials. I, for one, refuse to believe that human beings don’t care for those around them. They are just not meeting enough real people with real problems. This cocoon of existence cushions every aspect of their daily lives. In the upcoming new year, I urge that we fix our virtual algorithms, moral compasses, and our pink-coloured glasses to let some reality seep in. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 (WIR) could be the first step in rectifying that myopic view.

The report edited by eminent economists Thomas Piketty, Lucas Chancel, Ricardo Gómez-Carrera, and Rowaida Moshrif of Paris-based World Inequality Lab affirms that the world is not a beautiful meadow of flowers and docile animals; it’s a ruthless, cruel place that’s becoming increasingly inequitable. The richest clique is getting wealthier while the yawning gap between the haves and have-nots widens. The most affluent 10 per cent of the world owns 75 per cent of all personal wealth and captures 53 per cent of all income in 2025. The global bottom 50 per cent holds 2 per cent of wealth and captures 8 per cent of total income. The middle 40 per cent controls 23 per cent of wealth and captures 38 per cent of income. The third edition of the WIR is once again a grave reminder of the intense level of competition among the global bottom to access wealth and resources. It also highlights that “extreme wealth inequality is persistent and increasing”. For instance, the richest 0.001 per cent hold 6.1 per cent of personal wealth in 2025 compared to 3.8 per cent three decades ago in 1995.

The off-the-cuff remark that “the rich are getting richer” is now proven in numbers. As per the report, billionaires and centi-millionaires have grown their wealth by about 8 per cent every year since the 90s; this is almost twice the rate of growth of the global bottom. Obviously, the uber-rich also contribute to the highest amount of carbon emissions, with the top 10 per cent accounting for 77 per cent of emissions. Ironically, the poor pollute the least but are most vulnerable to climate shock. Women continue to grasp at straws, capturing a little over a quarter of global labour income. The report notes that the “share that has barely shifted since 1990”. Women’s share in labour income in the Middle East and North Africa is 16 per cent and 28 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 20 per cent in South and Southeast Asia and 34 per cent in East Asia. Europe, North America and Oceania, as well as Russia and Central Asia, have better metrics, but even then, women have only 40 per cent.

The picture is not glossy and it’s a hard read, I’ll give you that. But unfortunately, it doesn’t get better. When we turn our attention homeward, we find that inequality in India is among the highest worldwide. The top 1 per cent control 40 per cent of national wealth; a telling sign in a country where the majority regularly slips in and out of poverty. The report notes, “The top 10 per cent of earners capture about 58% of national income, while the bottom 50 per cent receive only 15 per cent. Wealth inequality is even greater, with the richest 10 per cent holding around 65 per cent of total wealth and the top 1 per cent about 40 per cent”. Income inequality is stark in India as compared to China and even Bangladesh. Coming in at 6th place, India is preceded by South Africa, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico.

As always, the choice lies in our hands and in the elected governments that we choose in India and around the world. Only an enthusiastic political will can make a dent. Reforms and policy changes are the need of the hour, wherein money and resources must make their way into the hands of the middle and bottom lots. Fair taxation and renewed investment into social infrastructure remain key. If this is not done, then the current tide of Gen Z uprising will continue, and rightly so. But so will chaos, violence, and destruction. Old, decrepit institutions must be demolished to make way for new ones. If global administrations continue to remain tone deaf, that day will soon be upon us. A concerted will and a call to action will be needed — I hope in 2026, something’s gotta give.

Views expressed are personal. The writer is an author and media entrepreneur