Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Wealth percentile
A point on a wealth ranking divided into hundredths, showing how someone's wealth compares with others'.
What it means
Put people or households in order by net worth. A percentile marks a point on that ranking: the 90th percentile is the wealth level reached by roughly 90% of those counted, with roughly 10% above it. Reports may also talk about the people in the 90th percentile, meaning one hundredth of the ranked group around that point. Check whether a report ranks individuals or households, and what it counts as wealth.
Example
If the 90th-percentile cut-off in a made-up survey is £500,000, roughly nine in ten of those ranked have net worth at or below £500,000. This is a cut-off, not the average wealth of the richest tenth.
Why it matters
It lets you see where a wealth figure sits in a wider group without assuming that everyone near the top has similar amounts.
Related terms
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Net worth
The value of what someone owns, minus what they owe.
Read more -
Top 1% wealth share
The share of all measured wealth owned by the wealthiest one in every hundred people or households.
Read more -
Wealth concentration
How much of a group's total wealth is held by a small number of its people or households.
Read more -
Wealth inequality
The gap between people in what they own, after subtracting what they owe.
Read more
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Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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