The UK financial inequality country when it comes to wealth. The richest 1% own more than 10% of total household wealth, while the poorest 50% own just 9%. Wealth inequality is growing even faster than income inequality, and it’s likely to divide society into haves and have-nots (see the ‘left behind’ section).

Our research examines trends in UK financial inequality, and how it affects our lives. This includes studies on the relationship between wealth and wellbeing, as well as detailed work on the distribution of household disposable income.

Wealth inequality is also a significant factor in public attitudes to politics, and the way people think about social change. For example, a recent study by the Fairness Foundation and Policy Institute at King’s College London found that two-thirds of British citizens believe the rich have too much influence on politics. This is higher than the share who think this about businesses or religious organisations. The participants in the study said this is because wealthy people are more likely to have a stake in the system and have a greater interest in seeing it function.

The most important measure of disposable household income is our main UK economic indicator, which provides an overview of trends in the distribution of incomes. We produce new analyses frequently to keep our understanding of the UK income distribution up to date. This includes the publication of annual estimates of households’ disposable income in Great Britain. In addition, we publish a breakdown of these estimates by region.