These are the countries with the biggest percentage of high income earners

A study has shown that the UK is 11th in the world for the proportion of high incomes, compared to the rest of the world.

The Pew Research Centre has found that 42 per cent of the UK would be counted as high class, globally, according to their definitions of income groups.

The centre defined income groups as follows: The poor live on $2 (£1.30) or less daily, low income on $2.01-10 (£1.30-£6.50), middle income on $10.01-20 (£6.51-£12.99), upper-middle income on $20.01-50 (£13-£32.49), and high income on more than $50 (£32.50); calculated using figures expressed in 2011 of purchasing power parities in 2011 prices.

In 2013/14 the government calculated the percentage of people in the UK on relative low income at 9.6m including 2.3m children before housing costs, with a total of 13.2m and 3.7m children after housing costs, defined as below 60 per cent of the median threshold.

After housing costs the average household income for 2012/13 was calculated at £386 per week or $84.82 (£55.10) a day - compared to the Pew definitions.

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