Infographics 2025

Income Share Inequality in India: Rural-Urban Trends and Post-Pandemic Recovery

Rajesh Shukla

This analysis focuses on the Income Share Ratio of the 50th to 10th percentiles, comparing rural and urban India over several decades. From 1953-55 to 1975-76, rural India initially exhibited higher inequality (2.0) compared to urban India (1.7). Over two decades, disparities grew in both regions, converging at 2.8-3.1 by 1975-76, with urban areas consistently showing slightly higher inequality. Between 1975-76 and 2015-16, income inequality stabilized, with ratios fluctuating between 2.5 and 3.1, maintaining urban areas' slight edge.

The pandemic in 2020-21 caused a sharp rise, with urban ratios spiking to 5.5 and rural to 4.7, reflecting a widening income gap, especially in urban areas. By 2022-23, ratios decreased to 3.0 in urban areas and 2.6 in rural areas, indicating partial recovery. Despite improvements, post-pandemic inequality remains above earlier levels, highlighting ongoing disparities between rural and urban income distributions.