Inequality, properly

Inequality is a shape, not a number. The Lorenz curve sketches the shape — how much of the income the bottom 50% earn, the top 10%, the top 1%. The Gini compresses it into one digit and hides which slice is doing the inequality.

Two countries can share a Gini and need opposite policies. Brazil and South Africa both have Ginis around 0.50 but different shapes — Brazil's top 10% is wide-but-not-extreme; South Africa's bottom 50% is missing. The right intervention follows the shape, not the number.

Nordic + Northern Europe

~ 0.25–0.32

Most developed

0.30–0.40

US, China

0.39–0.42

Latin America, parts of Asia

0.45–0.55

South Africa

~ 0.63