It was decided to calculate the level of inequality in Russia somewhat differently – after deducting taxes (for the poor they are lower) and taking into account the regional differentiation of incomes of the population (the differences here are well known). Rosstat, which announced the adoption of a new methodology for calculating the Gini coefficient (income concentration index), reported that at the end of 2025 its value was 0.375 – and this is noticeably lower than 0.422, previously determined using the “standard” method. In the future, apparently, it is this new indicator that will be used by the authorities to assess progress in achieving the national goal of reducing inequality in the country – according to the current methodology, it was only getting further away.
Rosstat has presented a new approach to measuring inequality among Russian citizens based on the level of income they receive. On April 29, the department announced that it will continue to annually calculate the Gini coefficient used in world practice in another, additional way – after deducting taxes and taking into account regional differentiation of incomes of the population in the Russian Federation. Previously used methods, Rosstat emphasized, are also preserved and will continue to be used.
The Gini coefficient (named after the Italian demographer of the 20th century) shows the deviation of the actual distribution of income from its absolutely equal distribution among the inhabitants of the country. The indicator is expressed as a number from zero to one – the closer to the upper threshold, the stronger the income stratification.
In Russia, the coefficient has been calculated since 1995; at the end of 2025, its value increased to a record 0.422 (from 0.410 in 2024) – it was at the same high level for the entire observation period only in 2007.
This dynamics clearly does not correspond to the task of fulfilling one of the national goals established by Vladimir Putin’s decree in 2024: reducing the indicator to 0.37 by 2030 and to 0.33 by 2036.
At the same time, the existing method of calculating the coefficient no longer fully correctly reflects the situation with the distribution of income of the population, at least due to the emergence of two new factors. This is the introduction of a five-level personal income tax scale, in which the tax increases with the growth of a citizen’s income, as well as the family tax deduction mechanism that began operating this year (personal income tax refund to working parents with low salaries who have two or more children).
Olga Zolotareva, director of the Center for Demography and Statistics of the Institute of Economic Strategies, explains that the new approach will allow us to assess the effectiveness of measures to redistribute the tax burden on the population and at the same time eliminate the factor of interregional price differentiation when assessing inequality.
Deputy Director of the INSAP Center of the Presidential Academy Marina Kartseva notes that calculating the Gini coefficient for disposable income is widely used in international practice. “For example, Eurostat and the national statistical authorities of the European Union use it as the main official indicator of inequality. The World Bank, in its global estimates of inequality, also relies mainly on disposable income or household consumption,” says the expert.
Rosstat reported that the inequality coefficient calculated using a new, additional methodology at the end of 2025 was only 0.375. Previously, a similar assessment – 0.3 – was received by Sberbank analysts, who calculated the indicator independently based on data from the Russian Monitoring of the Economic Situation and Health of the Population from the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Note that the resulting value is noticeably lower than the “standard” 0.422 for the same period and allows the authorities to be more optimistic about the achievability of the national goal set by the decree.
In the future, this new indicator may become the main indicator for assessing income inequality. However, as the Ministry of Labor explained to Kommersant, “since the target indicator for reducing inequality was calculated based on indicators according to the previous methodology, its adjustment will be proposed.”
Meanwhile, junior researcher at the Center for Spatial Analysis and Regional Diagnostics of the Presidential Academy, Darina Medvednikova, believes that the new methodology, with all the refinements, will not be able to give an absolutely reliable assessment of income inequality in the Russian Federation, since a noticeable part of it is still formed in the “shadow zone.” “Although Rosstat carries out an additional assessment of shadow income, it is impossible to statistically measure them with high accuracy,” says the expert.
