Gender gap for income narrower in rural areas

The EU gender gap for median equivalised net income was close to 5% during the last decade. In 2021, in absolute terms, the median value for males was €18 774, almost €800 higher than the one for females (€17 972).

In 2021, considering the differences in the degree of urbanisation, the EU gender gap for net income was narrower for people living in rural areas than for those living in cities: 4.0% against 4.8%. 

Source dataset: ilc_di17

At the national level, gender income gaps were higher in cities than rural areas in 13 Member States, with Lithuania and Malta presenting the highest differences in terms of the degree of urbanisation: 8.5 and 7.3 percentage points, respectively. 

Among the 14 countries where income gaps were higher in rural areas than cities, Austria (5.3 pp) and Italy (4.2 pp) presented the largest differences between the income gender gaps observed in urban and rural areas. Interestingly, in Austrian cities and Maltese rural contexts, the income gap was in favour of females: -1.7% and -4.4%, respectively.

This article is part of a series of articles published to mark International Women’s Day. 

Today, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM CET, we will hold a webinar on women in science, technology and research. The webinar will be streamed on the Eurostat website and Eurostat Facebook account. It is open to anyone interested, and there is no need to register. There will be an opportunity to ask questions via Slido.