Distribution of individual incomes in China between 1992 and 2009

This paper presents comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the distribution of individual annual incomes across the majority of the population in China from 1992–2009. The cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) and probability density functions (PDFs) are presented. Overall, the CDFs follow the Gaussian function C ( x ) = A e − ( x − μ ) 2 2 σ 2 for the majority of individuals in the population, while the PDFs obey the function P ( x ) = B ( x − μ ) e − ( x − μ ) 2 2 σ 2 . The width of the PDF has widened from 1992 to 2009, suggesting the factor ( x − μ ) has been progressively skewing the curve to the right. This long tail representing the high income range is reminiscent of an exponential distribution curve. This indicates that a few individuals obtain extremely high incomes, leading to increasing levels of financial inequality in China.