India Wealth Atlas
How rich, healthy and educated is each state? Explore income, economy size, population and human development on an interactive map — and see where Maharashtra and your state stand.
Ranking
Sources: population — Census of India 2011; GSDP and net state domestic product per person, current prices, 2022-23 — MoSPI/RBI state accounts as compiled on Wikipedia; HDI, life expectancy and mean years of schooling — Global Data Lab Subnational HDI (UNDP data). The Wealth-being Index is WishWiseWealth's own composite: the simple average of income per person (log scale), HDI and mean years of schooling, each scaled 0–100. Map shows the official boundaries of India; data for the Jammu & Kashmir shape refers to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. State-level employment, salary, median age and loan data are not shown because comparable, recent figures are not available for all states.
How is "wealth-being" measured?
No single number captures how well a place — or a person — is doing. Economists combine several markers, each answering a different question.
GDP and income per person
Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of everything produced in a year; for a state it is called GSDP. Big states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have the largest economies. But GDP divided by population — income per person — tells you far more about how an average resident lives. That is why a small state like Goa or Sikkim can rank above much larger ones.
Human Development Index (HDI)
Created by the United Nations Development Programme, HDI combines three things: a long and healthy life (life expectancy), knowledge (years of schooling) and a decent standard of living (income). It runs from 0 to 1. India's HDI was 0.685 in 2023, placing it 130th of 193 countries; Kerala and Goa score above 0.8, comparable to upper-middle-income countries.
Happiness and life satisfaction
The World Happiness Report ranks countries by how people rate their own lives on a 0–10 ladder, alongside factors such as income, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and trust. Finland has topped it for several years in a row. Bhutan famously measures Gross National Happiness as a national goal. Money matters to happiness, but beyond a comfortable level, security, health and relationships matter more.
Inequality
The Gini coefficient measures how evenly income or wealth is shared, from 0 (everyone equal) to 1 (one person has everything). Two places with the same average income can feel very different if one is far more unequal.
Financial literacy
A global survey by S&P found that only about a quarter of Indian adults could answer basic questions on interest, inflation and diversification. Knowledge is a marker of future wealth: people who understand compounding tend to save earlier and avoid costly mistakes.
And for a family? Your Wealth Quotient
For a household, the equivalent markers are savings rate, emergency cushion, debt load, insurance, investments relative to age and income, and whether the paperwork is in order. We turned these into a free Wealth Score checkup that takes two minutes.
Markers at a glance
- GDP / GSDP — size of the economy
- Income per person — average living standard
- HDI — health, education and income together
- Happiness — how people rate their own lives
- Gini — how evenly income is shared
- Financial literacy — how well people understand money
- Wealth Quotient — a family's financial health
How countries make people save for retirement
Many countries do not leave retirement saving to willpower. They make it automatic or compulsory.
| Country | Main system | How much goes in | Compulsory? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Central Provident Fund (CPF) | Up to 37% of wages for workers aged 55 and below (20% employee + 17% employer); covers retirement, housing and healthcare | Yes |
| Australia | Superannuation | Employers must pay 12% of earnings into the employee's super fund (from 1 July 2025) | Yes, employer-paid |
| Chile | Individual pension accounts (AFP) | 10% of wages from workers, with a 2025 reform phasing in an extra employer contribution | Yes |
| United Kingdom | Workplace auto-enrolment | Minimum 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer | Automatic, with the right to opt out |
| United States | Social Security + 401(k) | 12.4% payroll tax for Social Security (split employer/employee); 401(k) savings voluntary, with new plans now required to auto-enrol | Social Security yes; 401(k) opt-out |
| Netherlands, Denmark | Occupational pensions | Large, mostly employer-linked schemes covering nearly all workers; consistently near the top of global pension rankings | Quasi-mandatory through sector agreements |
| India | EPF, NPS, Atal Pension Yojana | EPF: 12% from the employee and 12% from the employer (part of it to the pension scheme EPS) for covered salaried workers; NPS and APY voluntary | Only for covered formal-sector jobs |
Rules summarised as of 2026 and simplified; each system has limits, exemptions and age bands.
The lesson for Indian families
The countries with the strongest retirement outcomes share one design idea: saving happens automatically, before the money reaches the spending account, for an entire working life. Most Indian workers are outside EPF, and even EPF alone rarely funds a full retirement. You can build your own "compulsory" system: a SIP that runs the day after salary, stepped up every year, earmarked only for retirement. Work out your number.