Income in Switzerland is relatively evenly distributed compared with most countries in North America and Europe as well as Korea and Japan, a study has found.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Tuesday that Switzerland has the tenth smallest gap between rich and poor on its household income inequality scale.

Denmark had the lowest inequality while Mexico had the highest, followed by Turkey and the United States.

Between 1995 and 2005, income inequality decreased in France, Spain and Ireland.

The poverty rate in Switzerland was below the 30-country OECD average, the report found.

However, around 80 per cent of one-income households in Switzerland were considered to be working poor, while the OECD average was 60 per cent.

Some 18 per cent of pensioners in Switzerland fell below the poverty line compared with an average of 13 per cent average among the OECD countries.

The OECD's members are mostly developed countries, especially in Europe.

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