Chart 3 Exercises with Answers

Chart 3.1 Income Distribution in Three Countries for Percentage of Households

1. Chart 3.1 shows the percentage of GNP earned by the richest 20 percent, middle 60 percent, and poorest 20 percent of a low-income, middle-income, and high-income country (actual percentages are given in the table above).

1. Compare the portion of GNP earned by the poorest 20 percent of each of the countries. How much difference is there between the countries? [Not much. Across all three countries, the poorest 20% earns only about 7% of the GNP.]
2. In which country does the "middle class" get the largest percentage of income? [United Kingdom] How does this compare with the other two countries? [It is very similar.]
3. In which country does the wealthiest class receive the largest percentage of income? [Morocco] How does this compare with the other two countries? [It is very similar.]
4. Make a statement that describes the patterns of income distribution in these three countries. [Possible answer: Regardless of whether a country is rich or poor, income distribution is unequal, with the richest people getting much more than the poorest people.]

2. Since national income tends to be closely related to quality of life indicators, what patterns would you expect to see in life expectancies, literacy rates, and access to safe water and sanitation among rich and poor people within nations? [The rich probably would have higher rates of life expectancy, literacy, and access to safe water and sanitation than the poor of the same country, unless the government and others instituted policies or programs to improve health, education, and water and sanitation services to those who can least afford them.]

Chart 3.2. Income Distribution in Three Countries for Percentage of Households
(with average income in dollars)

3. Look at Chart 3.2 to see the actual average per capita incomes for the richest, middle, and poorest groups of people in these three countries.

1. How does the average per capita income of the richest 20 percent of Tanzania compare with that of the poorest 20 percent of Morocco? [The poorest 20% of people in Morocco earn more on average than the richest 20% of Tanzania.]
2. How does the average per capita income of the richest 20 percent of Morocco compare with that of the poorest 20 percent of the United Kingdom? [The poorest 20% of the people in the United Kingdom earn more on average than the richest 20% of Morocco.]
3. Based solely on average per capita income, it would appear that everyone, even the poor in the United Kingdom would have a better standard of living than people in Morocco or Tanzania. What factors would change that? [If the cost of living were much higher in the United Kingdom than in the other countries, they might not be able to buy as much with their income as people in other countries. Also, if in a wealthier country everyone appears to have more things, the poorest segment of the population in these countries may feel more deprived than the poorest in less wealthy nations. Similarly, people who are in the richest 20% of the population in Tanzania and Morocco may feel wealthier than the poorest 20% in the United Kingdom because they are able to afford more goods and services than others in their countries.]