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The debate on the progress – and beneficiaries – of robusta post-pandemic economic recovery in India it has been enriched with a new chapter. Goldman Sachs published a report estimating that by 2027 in Asian country there will be approximately 100 million individuals with an annual income above 10 thousand dollars.
The research, entitled «The Rise of Affluent India», photographs the rapid economic rise of a small segment of the Indian population which today is estimated at approximately 4% of those of working age, equivalent to approximately 44 million. A figure that translates overall into 60 million people and 12-14 million wealthy families.
A share of the population growing by 12.6% per year
According to the American investment bank, their number has already been rapidly expanding for some years and between 2019 and 2023 it would have grown by approximately 12.6% per year, against 1.4% of the population in its complex. Among the indicators used to photograph its size and dynamism, Goldman Sachs economists took into consideration various elements, including tax returns, bank accounts, credit cards and broadband connections.
The research also attempted to outline the shape of the Indian income pyramid, finding itself grappling with a stubbornly broad base. For 60 million citizens with incomes above 10 thousand dollars per year, there would be 112 million between 5 and 10 thousand dollars; 262 million between 2,500 and 5 thousand; 294 million between 1,500 and 2,500 and 720 million under 1,500 dollars, practically half (49.7%) of the total.
The growth gap and the leverage of the «wealth effect»
«In the last 3 years – we read in the report – we have witnessed a strong divergence in the growth rates of businesses and consumption categories. One of the key factors is that companies catering to the top of the income pyramid in India have grown much faster than companies in the same category catering to broader consumption in India.”