Peru's richest 1% captured 42% of all new wealth, Oxfam finds

The richest 1 percent of Peruvians captured 42 percent of all new wealth created between 2019 and 2025, while the poorest 50 percent of the population received just 1.4 percent, according to a new analysis released by Oxfam on Tuesday, October 20.The figure marks an increase from the 2000 to 2019 period, when the top 1 percent captured about 39 percent of new wealth, Oxfam told Al Jazeera. The analysis was published alongside the 2026 National Survey on Perceptions of Inequalities (ENADES 2026), prepared with the Institute for Peruvian Studies, a think tank in Lima.The survey found that 84 percent of Peruvians believe their country is governed by powerful groups — mainly political elites, large corporations and other economic actors — for their own benefit. More than 75 percent said wealthy corporations and individuals do not pay their fair share of taxes, 72 percent described their country as very or somewhat unequal, and about 70 percent said they want the government to do more to reduce inequality."Economic inequality in Peru has remained stubbornly high for decades. And when people feel that the same people always win, that nothing changes and nothing can change, inequality starts to look less like an injustice and more like the natural order of things," said Alejandra Alayza, executive director of Oxfam in Peru. "That is a dangerous kind of fatalism, and we must tear it down."Oxfam said a majority of respondents felt inequality had limited their access to services such as healthcare, employment, education and justice, and warned that the scale of public support for action left "no room for complacency" for the government in Lima. Sources: Oxfam International press release, October 20, 2026; Al Jazeera reporting, October 20, 2026.