Despite a steady rise in income inequality, the Czech Republic remains one of the EU countries with the lowest income disparity.
Compared to other EU nations, the income gap in the Czech Republic is relatively small, even though disparities have been growing in recent years. The country fares even better when compared to developed non-European OECD countries.
The Gini index, a common measure of income inequality, ranges from 0 (perfect equality) to 100 (complete inequality). According to Eurostat data, the highest Gini index values in the EU in 2023 were recorded in Bulgaria (37.2), Lithuania (35.7), and Latvia (34.0), among others.
On the other end of the spectrum, countries with the lowest Gini index values include Slovakia (21.6), Slovenia (23.4), Belgium (24.2), and the Czech Republic (24.4). By comparison, Germany’s Gini index has widened over the past 25 years, increasing from 26.0 in 1999 to nearly 29.4 in 2023.
In the Czech Republic, the average salary in the second quarter of 2024 was 45,854 crowns, with the median salary at 38,529 crowns. The median salary represented 84% of the average salary. Notably, 80% of Czech workers earned between 20,652 and 75,570 crowns.
In the EU, an individual is considered “poor” if they earn less than 60% of the median salary, which includes net income from work, pensions, sickness benefits, unemployment benefits, or social payments. Conversely, a person is considered “rich” if their income is 200% or more of the median salary. The thresholds for poverty and wealth differ across EU member states.
