Israel's Inequality Index Drops in 2024 Amidst Increased Benefits
Translated & summarized from NEWSru Israel by baba
Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the Gini index, measuring inequality, fell to 0.333 in 2024 from 0.349. This occurred as average income from work decreased in real terms, but government benefits and subsidies increased by approximately 15%. The gap in net income between the richest and poorest households narrowed, though it remains high compared to other OECD nations. These changes reflect economic trends and the war's impact.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israel's Gini index of inequality fell to 0.333 in 2024, down from 0.349.
- Average household income from work decreased by about 1.4% in real terms.
- Government benefits and subsidies increased by approximately 15% in real terms.
- The income gap between the top and bottom deciles narrowed to 6.8 times.
- Consumption expenditure rose by only 0.3%, with households consuming less than in 2022.
- The Central Bureau of Statistics cited economic trends and the war's impact for the changes.
Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported a decrease in the Gini index, a measure of inequality, from 0.349 to 0.333 in 2024. This decline occurred despite a real-term reduction in average household income from work, which was offset by a significant rise in government benefits and subsidies. The CBS attributes these changes to both natural economic trends and the impact of the ongoing war.
Average monthly income from work saw a nominal increase of 1.7%, from 20,462 to 20,803 shekels. However, after accounting for inflation, this represents a decrease of approximately 1.4%. In contrast, benefits and subsidies surged by about 15% in real terms, rising from 3,387 to 4,022 shekels per month, and their share of total household income grew from 12.9% to 14.8%.
Overall average gross household income remained largely unchanged at 27,173 shekels monthly. Net disposable income, however, increased by 1.3% in real terms to 22,555 shekels, partly due to a reduction in mandatory payments from 4,720 to 4,619 shekels per month.
Household consumption expenditure rose by only 0.3% to 18,695 shekels. This minimal increase, following a 1.4% decrease in 2023, means average households consumed about 1% less in real terms in 2024 compared to 2022.
While the gap in net disposable income between the top and bottom deciles narrowed from 7.3 to 6.8 times, it remains among the highest in OECD countries. The top decile's share of total net income rose slightly to 22.4%, and the bottom decile's share increased to 2.8%. The share of benefits in the income of the top decile increased from 5.6% to 7%, while it decreased slightly for the bottom decile from 38.3% to 37.6%. In monetary terms, households in the top decile received 4,912 shekels in benefits and subsidies monthly, nearly double that of households in the bottom decile (2,505 shekels).
