Income inequality: Macedonia's Gini coefficient of 29.2 matches the EU average, Bulgaria sits at the bottom

The Gini coefficient, which measures how unevenly income is spread across a population, stands at 29.2 for Macedonia. That is exactly the European Union average for 2025, according to figures released by the EU's statistics office, Eurostat. With one important difference: the Macedonian figure is from 2024.

The coefficient runs from 0 to 100 - zero means perfect equality, a hundred means one person takes all the income. The EU average improved slightly, from 29.4 in 2024 to 29.2 in 2025. Slovakia is the most equal at 23, followed by Belgium at 23.4, Czechia at 24, Slovenia at 24.6 and Poland at 24.9.

At the other end is Bulgaria at 37.7 - the highest inequality in the Union - followed by Latvia at 35.6 and Lithuania at 35.5. In the region, Serbia is at 32, Montenegro 31.6, Albania 30.2 (2023 data) and Croatia 28.5. Among the non-EU countries covered, Turkey has the highest figure, at 43.9.

At first glance, Macedonia looks better than most of its neighbours. But an even distribution doesn't mean a high standard of living - you can be evenly poor, too. The Gini coefficient tells you how the cake is sliced, not how big it is.