how does income inequality in Germany compare to other European countries?

 Income inequality in Germany has been rising since the 1980s

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. According to a study by CEPR, Germany went through a wave of inequality in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with a rising phase until 1913 followed by a decline until at least the 1970s

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. From 2000 to 2006, Germany experienced an unprecedented rise in net equivalized income inequality and poverty

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. Other factors that possibly contributed to the rise in income inequality were changes in the tax system, changes in the household structure (in particular the rising share of single-parent households), and changes in other socio-economic characteristics (e.g. age or education) 

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. In comparison to other European countries, EU-level inequality in disposable incomes, as measured by the Gini coefficient, is slightly below the inequality observed in the most unequal member states such as Bulgaria and Lithuania

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. However, Germany is more unequal in income than Sweden, which has a more equal distribution of income

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