GB leads the world (in inequality)

The pay gap between the highest and lowest earners in the UK has grown more quickly than in any other high-income country since 1975, a report has said.

Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found the sharp increase in income inequality, which began in 2005, leaves Britain well above the group's average.

The study - Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising - published by the forum of 34 countries that earn the most, said the annual average income of the top 10% was almost £55,000 in 2008, nearly 12 times higher than that of the bottom 10%, who earned an average of £4,700. This is up from a ratio of 8 to 1 in 1985, the OECD said.

money.uk.msn.com