The Gini Index: A Modern Measure of Inequality

The Gini index is the most widely accepted inequality measure across the Globe, with almost all governmental and international agencies using it to summarise income or wealth inequality in a nation or the world. Although originally developed to be a standardised measure of statistical dispersion intended to understand income distribution, the Gini index has evolved into quantifying inequity in all kinds of distributions of wealth, gender parity, access to education and health services, and environmental policies, among others. In this work, we present the original Gini index, as well as some of the various existent alternative Gini formulations, while also exploring various traditional and modern applications of the index in different settings, at national and international levels. We further discuss the implications of the traditional Gini index for international diplomacy and policymaking and conclude with some future directions on the topic.