Gini Index Unchanged as Economy Grows Fast

Financial Tribune – As the Iranian economy grew remarkably in the last fiscal year (March 2016-17), the Gini coefficient remained the same compared to that of the preceding year, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.

Statistics indicate that the most significant shift in income seems to have occurred from the lower strata’s pockets to the middle class.

The Gini index stood still at 0.39 last year, recording no year-on-year change. This is while the economy grew by 8.3%, associated for the most part to the ramped up production and exports of oil and related products after international sanctions imposed against Iran were lifted as part of the landmark nuclear deal.

The Gini index or Gini coefficient is a statistical measure of distribution developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini in 1912. It is often used as a gauge of economic inequality, measuring income distribution or, less commonly, wealth distribution among a population. The coefficient ranges from 0 (or 0%) to 1 (or 100%), with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. Values over 1 are theoretically possible due to negative income or wealth.