The Gini index, or Gini coefficient, measures income distribution across a population. Developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini in 1912, it often serves 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 greater than 1 are theoretically possible due to negative income or wealth
A country in which every resident has the same income would have an income Gini coefficient of 0. Conversely, a country in which one resident earned all the income, while everyone else earned nothing, would have an income Gini coefficient of 1