Primrose Mulenga hangs laundry outside her home in South Africa. Photo: Alexa Sedge/Oxfam
Economic inequality
The rich only get richer while millions live in poverty. The system must change.
Inequality creates poverty and injustice
The richest 1% of the world owns more than 95% of the world's population. At the same time, millions of people live in extreme poverty, without access to their rights, political power and opportunities. Oxfam has estimated that by 2034 we will see the world's first dollar trillionaire (one million million dollars), but eradicating world poverty will take 229 years. The situation is neither fair nor sustainable.
Extreme inequality and disparities between rich and poor undermine the fight against poverty, damage economies and create public frustration. Unequal societies create social unrest, political instability, crime and violence.
Economic inequality:
- is the result of deliberate policy choices that favor super-rich individuals and corporations, increasing carbon emissions
- exacerbates other dimensions of inequality, such as between women and men, and between different ethnicities
- is something we need to reduce in order to fight poverty, and build more sustainable and equitable societies
How we work
Our work on economic inequality is both global and local. Below are some examples of how we work.
Research
Several times a year, Oxfam produces research on economic inequality in the world and in Sweden, and the consequences of inequality. In these reports, we also make concrete recommendations to create a world that benefits everyone, not just a few.
Inequality Inc (2024)
Influencing policy
Oxfam influences politicians and governments to adopt policies that are proven to reduce inequality. Some of our standing proposals are to make welfare equal, that governments should keep clear statistics on wealth and economic distribution in their countries, and that governments should tax the wealthiest individuals - who are currently taxed very little, or not at all.
Strengthening workers' rights
Oxfam promotes workers' rights, such as trade union rights, through campaigns and policy advocacy. We also work directly with local communities to empower marginalized groups to generate their own income, for example to help women become economically independent.
Working with businesses
We work directly with companies to ensure that workers and small-scale farmers in global supply chains have decent, dignified jobs without discrimination and where they earn a living wage. With a local presence in the countries and contexts where workers and farmers operate, we have unique insight and trust.
Corporate responsibility
Economic inequality in Sweden
Economic inequality is also increasing in Sweden. The five richest Swedes own more than five million Swedes combined. Swedes' salaries have not kept pace with inflation, except for CEOs, whose salaries have increased. Sweden is also the worst in the Nordic region at fighting inequality, as calculated by Oxfam in its Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2022 report.
We call on the Swedish government to introduce policies that reduce inequality, such as improved statistics on the distribution of wealth in the country, taxation of the richest individuals and companies, and a more equal distribution of corporate profits. Read more here.
