STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The richest 10 percent of people hold 58 percent of total wealth in Bangladesh, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.

Wealth is even more concentrated among the top one percent, who alone control around 24 percent of all assets, said the report released by the Paris-based World Inequality Lab yesterday.

By contrast, the bottom 50 percent of the population own just 4.7 percent of total wealth, while the middle 40 percent hold 36.9 percent.

The report said this distribution reflects a highly uneven concentration of wealth, though overall inequality has remained moderate with little change over the past decade.

The top 10 percent of earners receive about 41 percent of national income, while the bottom half capture only 19 percent.

The income gap between these groups narrowed slightly, from a level of 22 to 21, between 2014 and 2024, suggesting broadly stable inequality levels.

“Female labour participation remains low at 22.3 percent, indicating persistent gender disparities in economic activity,” the report added.

Overall, inequality patterns in Bangladesh remain largely unchanged, with limited progress toward a more balanced distribution of income and wealth.

Globally, the report found that the richest 10 percent of the world’s population own nearly three-quarters of all wealth, while the poorest half hold barely 2 percent.