The gap between rich and poor in Hong Kong now stands at its widest in at least three decades.
The Census and Statistics Department says the city's Gini coefficient has reached 0.537 based on income data from 2011.
The higher the score on this internationally recognised scale from 0 to 1, the greater the income inequality. In Hong Kong, it was 0.533 five years ago and 0.451 in 1981. That is among the highest in the developed world. The score is 0.482 in Singapore and 0.469 in the United States.
Poverty advocates say it shows that neither recent economic growth nor government relief measures have bridged the gap.
Officials warn that income disparity is likely to worsen in coming years. As Hong Kong's population ages, more people will retire from the workforce.
The number of families where nobody is working has increased by 48 per cent from 280,000 to 420,000.