The concentration of income among Europe's wealthiest individuals varies dramatically from one country to another. According to data from the World Inequality Database (WID), the richest 0.1% — roughly one in every thousand people — earn between 1.6% and 10.2% of national income across 35 European countries, including EU member states, candidates, EFTA nations, and the United Kingdom.
The European average stands at 4.5%, but several countries far exceed that figure. Among EU members, Estonia records the highest share at 8.3%, followed by Bulgaria (7.5%) and Poland (7%). Two EU candidate countries also rank high: Serbia at 6.9% and Turkey at 6.1%. Denmark (5.8%) and Romania (5.1%) complete the group above 5%.
Why the gap?
Dr Pawel Bukowski from University College London points to policy choices as a key driver. "Countries might differ in the extent of redistribution, that is, how much we try to influence incomes through taxes and social policies," he told Euronews Business. "In this respect, Central and Eastern Europe has quite a low level of redistribution. For instance, the taxation system in Poland is regressive, that is, the rich pay relatively less than the poor." He added that many social policies in the region are not designed to equalise incomes effectively.
Dr Salvatore Morelli from the University of Roma Tre offers a complementary explanation. Higher top income shares in some countries may reflect genuine concentration of wages, business income, and wealth ownership — especially following the economic transitions of the 1990s. But they may also stem from differences in pension systems, tax reporting rules, informality, and how well capital incomes are captured in administrative data.
Morelli emphasised the role of labour market institutions: "Research suggests that countries with stronger wage compression, stronger collective bargaining institutions, lower unemployment and more extensive social insurance systems tend to reduce the pre-tax income gap between top earners and the rest of the population. This may help explain why Scandinavian and several Western European countries often record lower top income shares than many post-transition economies."
Indeed, the four largest European economies — excluding Italy due to outdated data — cluster closely together: Spain at 5%, Germany at 4.9%, the UK at 4.9%, and France at 4.9%. Ireland sits just behind at 4.8%, slightly above the European average.
At the lower end, the Netherlands records the smallest share at 1.6%, followed by Cyprus (2.2%), Montenegro (2.3%), Slovenia (2.3%), Belgium (2.3%), Albania (2.4%), and Latvia (2.4%). Italy's latest WID figure is 2.0%, but that dates from 2015; a more recent study by Guzzardi and Morelli puts the 2021 figure at 3.3%.
Countries in the middle range include Greece (4.5%), Switzerland (4.3%), Czechia (4.2%), Sweden (3.7%), Finland (3.5%), and Norway (3.5%).
Historical trends
The income share of Europe's top 0.1% has fluctuated over the past century. It peaked at 6.43% in 1940, then declined steadily to around 2.7% by the early 1980s. A rise followed, nearing 5% in 2007 before the financial crisis pulled it back. Since roughly 2010, the share has remained relatively flat, standing at 4.54% in 2024.
These disparities matter for policy. As Poland and Portugal lead Europe in real income growth, understanding how top earners capture gains becomes crucial. Meanwhile, income tax burdens vary dramatically across the continent, shaping the post-tax distribution. And as Europe's ultra-rich club grows, the debate over redistribution and tax fairness is likely to intensify.
