Inequality
Reducing inequalities for EU citizens and promoting upward convergence in living conditions is high on the policy agenda for the European Commission. Drivers of inequality can include gender, age, disability, employment status and citizenship, with implications for pay and income, access to welfare, health and education services.
Latest
Find the latest content on this topic below.
15 September 2025
Wealth inequality across EU Member States has important implications for access to education, healthcare and housing, as well as for people’s ability to actively participate in society.
This article summarises some of the main findings from the recently published report Unequal wealth: Exploring socioeconomic disparities across the EU. It maps wealth inequalities across EU Member States by drawing on data from the European Central Bank’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), covering the period between 2010 and 2021.
15 September 2025
29 October 2024
About Inequality
Learn more about this topic and its relevance for EU policy making.
Highlights for Inequality
This is a selection of the most important outputs for this topic.
29 October 2024
A snapshot of income inequality and middle class across the EU
24 January 2023
Economic and social inequalities in Europe in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic had varying impacts on social groups, depending on existing disadvantages, and it was widely believed that it triggered a rise in inequalities across different areas of life. Using indicators from the EU’s Multidimensional Inequality Monitoring Framework (MIMF), this report shows how inequality in the spheres of income, health, employment and education changed between 2010 and 2020. It also examines the main drivers of this change during the pandemic and explores the relationships between government policies in several domains and inequality.
20 December 2021
Monitoring convergence in the European Union: Looking backwards to move forward – Upward convergence through crises
Upward convergence lies at the heart of the EU project. Member States and their citizens sign up to be part of the Union, as they expect their membership will lead to balanced economic prosperity and social progress across countries. Increasing disparities between Member States, as happened during the 2008–2013 economic crisis, could be seen as a betrayal of the EU’s promise, and potentially lay the seeds for discontent and disintegration. This flagship report is the culmination of Eurofound’s research into monitoring convergence in the EU, which was initiated in 2017. It describes the shifting dynamics of upward convergence over the period 2008–2019, explores the short-term impact of COVID-19 on European economies and societies, together with its implications for convergence, and discusses the long-term effects of the pandemic and the future of upward economic and social convergence in Europe.
9 May 2021
Living, working and COVID-19 (Update April 2021): Mental health and trust decline across EU as pandemic enters another year
The third round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded in February and March 2021, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe following nearly a full year of living with COVID-19 restrictions. This report analyses the main findings and tracks ongoing developments and trends across the 27 EU Member States since the survey was first launched in April 2020. It pinpoints issues that have surfaced over the course of the pandemic, such as increased job insecurity due to the threat of job loss, decline in mental well-being levels, erosion of recent gains in gender equality, fall in trust levels vis-à-vis institutions, deterioration of work–life balance and growth of vaccine hesitancy. The results of the survey highlight the need for a holistic approach to support all the groups hit hard by the crisis in order to prevent them from falling further behind.
30 March 2021
Wealth distribution and social mobility
This report explores the distribution of household wealth in the EU Member States and analyses the role of wealth in social mobility. Using data from three datasets (the Household Finance and Consumption Survey, the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the Luxembourg Wealth Study), it focuses on wealth per household member. Wealth composition is compared across social groups and countries, and the role of housing assets in wealth distribution and negative wealth is assessed. The findings show that parental background, including parental wealth, has an impact on educational and wealth mobility. In order to promote equality of opportunities in terms of access to education and housing, the impact of wealth inequalities, including differences in parental wealth, should be counterbalanced. The report also suggests that regularising wealth declaration in the EU could be a way of promoting social justice by minimising hidden wealth and combating tax evasion.
10 December 2019
A more equal Europe? Convergence and the European Pillar of Social Rights
The European Pillar of Social Rights is designed to act as a compass for a renewed process of upward convergence among Member States towards better working and living conditions. It is accompanied by a Social Scoreboard to monitor the progress made by Member States. This policy brief presents the results of an investigation into the upward convergence patterns of the headline indicators of the Social Scoreboard and the relationship between convergence and the business cycle from 2008 to 2018. The results show that although the economic crisis that engulfed Europe from 2008 slowed down the convergence of Member States on some indicators, upward convergence on several has been restored, including the indicators on employment and risk of poverty. While the analysis uncovers different dynamics of upward convergence for most indicators, some very stable and some more unstable, few indicators still show a downward trend over the decade.
Experts on Inequality
Researchers at Eurofound provide expert insights and can be contacted for questions or media requests.
Tadas Leončikas
Head of UnitTadas Leončikas is Head of the Employment unit at Eurofound since September 2022. Prior to this, he was a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit, managing the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) and developing Eurofound's survey research. Since joining Eurofound in 2010, he has worked on various topics including survey methods, quality of life, social mobility, social inclusion, trust and housing inadequacies. In his earlier career, he headed up the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Lithuania where he worked on studies related to the situation of ethnic minorities, migrants and other vulnerable groups. As a researcher, he has previously collaborated with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Organization for Migration. He has a PhD in Sociology.
Massimiliano Mascherini
Head of UnitMassimiliano Mascherini is Head of the Social Policies unit at Eurofound since October 2019. He joined Eurofound in 2009 as a research manager, designing and coordinating projects on youth employment, NEETs and their social inclusion, as well as on the labour market participation of women. In 2017, he became a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit where he spearheaded new research on monitoring convergence in the EU. In addition, he led the conceptualisation of the 2026 European Quality of Life Survey. In 2025, he was awarded the Brendan Walsh prize for the best paper published in Economic and Social Review. Previously, he was scientific officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. He studied at the University of Florence, where he majored in actuarial and statistical sciences and attained a PhD in Applied Statistics. He has been visiting fellow at the University of Sydney and at Aalborg University and visiting professor at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
All content for Inequality
This section provides access to all content that has been published on the topic.
