Internal Assessment
Mathematics Applications and Interpretations
Title: The mathematics behind income inequality and the Gini
coefficient
Aim: Understanding which country is best to live in by calculating the
Gini coefficient of each country and comparing them.
Number of pages: 16
1|P ag e
,Table of Contents:
Title Page
Rationale and Introduction 3
Aim 3
Plan 4
The Gini Index and Lorenz Curve 4
How The Gini Index is Calculated 6
Gini Index of Brazil 8
Gini Index of France 16
Gini Index of Portugal 17
Conclusion 18
Reflection 18
Bibliography 19
2|P ag e
, Rationale and Introduction:
Now more than ever, income is held to an extremely high regard, with individuals’ lives being
hugely impacted mainly by the number displayed in their banking account at the end of each
week, month or year. This, naturally, leads to a huge divide as well as massive inequality
amongst people in their given country, which lead me to wonder and research a lot about how
income inequality in different nations affects its people. So, in order to understand it we must
have a measurement of income inequality and inevitably, I landed on the Gini coefficient which
greatly fascinated me thanks to how easily it gives a reading of a country’s income inequality
with just a simple number which tells a massive story about said country.
This helped feed my hunger for more knowledge in the impressive field of economics and
statistics which I always found a fascination in due to their importance in the world we live in
today. Income inequality is an ever growing, sadly inevitable issue which I found an interest in
and would love to explore and learn more about it to possibly contribute one day to help fix it;
and so, I will dive into the economies of Brazil, France and Portugal with the use of the Gini
coefficient as well as the Lorenz curve.
Aim:
For this investigation, I will attempt to understand which of the 3 afore mentioned economies
does the best job at maintaining a small gap in their respective income inequalities by deriving
information from the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. This will help us understand which
country would be easier to live in, and suggest a model economy for other countries to possibly
3|P ag e
Mathematics Applications and Interpretations
Title: The mathematics behind income inequality and the Gini
coefficient
Aim: Understanding which country is best to live in by calculating the
Gini coefficient of each country and comparing them.
Number of pages: 16
1|P ag e
,Table of Contents:
Title Page
Rationale and Introduction 3
Aim 3
Plan 4
The Gini Index and Lorenz Curve 4
How The Gini Index is Calculated 6
Gini Index of Brazil 8
Gini Index of France 16
Gini Index of Portugal 17
Conclusion 18
Reflection 18
Bibliography 19
2|P ag e
, Rationale and Introduction:
Now more than ever, income is held to an extremely high regard, with individuals’ lives being
hugely impacted mainly by the number displayed in their banking account at the end of each
week, month or year. This, naturally, leads to a huge divide as well as massive inequality
amongst people in their given country, which lead me to wonder and research a lot about how
income inequality in different nations affects its people. So, in order to understand it we must
have a measurement of income inequality and inevitably, I landed on the Gini coefficient which
greatly fascinated me thanks to how easily it gives a reading of a country’s income inequality
with just a simple number which tells a massive story about said country.
This helped feed my hunger for more knowledge in the impressive field of economics and
statistics which I always found a fascination in due to their importance in the world we live in
today. Income inequality is an ever growing, sadly inevitable issue which I found an interest in
and would love to explore and learn more about it to possibly contribute one day to help fix it;
and so, I will dive into the economies of Brazil, France and Portugal with the use of the Gini
coefficient as well as the Lorenz curve.
Aim:
For this investigation, I will attempt to understand which of the 3 afore mentioned economies
does the best job at maintaining a small gap in their respective income inequalities by deriving
information from the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. This will help us understand which
country would be easier to live in, and suggest a model economy for other countries to possibly
3|P ag e
