The chart provides information about how much money the top 1% of 7 different countries earned between the years 1975 and 2015.
Overall, it is clear that the income of this particular group in Japan, France, and Italy followed the same pattern, while that of the other four countries underwent great fluctuation. However, there was a general upward trend witnessed over the period.
In the first twenty years, the income of the top 1% in Japan, France, and Italy remained around 7 to 8 percent, despite a decline followed by an increase of approximately 2% from 1980 to 1990. The figures rose constantly from 2000 onward, except for a small drop in France in 2010, to finish at nearly 8% at the end of the period.
Regarding the remaining countries, Germany started off with the highest percentage, 10%, which then fluctuated between 8% and 10% before climbing to the same rate as Canada and the UK in 2015, standing at 13%. The latter two countries went through the same upswings from 1990, with a rise of 4% recorded. Finally, although starting at about the same rate as the rest, the US income soared to peak at 18% in 2015 after 40 years of constant fluctuation.