"Britain is an unequal country, more so than many other industrialised countries and more so than it was a generation ago."

The gap between rich and poor in Britain has increased over the past four decades, and has kept on rising even in the past decade, according to a "sobering" report into equality published on Wednesday.

Tthe National Equality Panel's report states starkly that: "Britain is an unequal country, more so than many other industrialised countries and more so than it was a generation ago."

While the increase in inequality has slowed, the panel found that the richest 10 percent of households in the country, with an average household wealth of £853,000 including personal possessions and housing, are nearly 100 times better off than the poorest 10 percent of the population, who have at best a household wealth of £8,800. The gap between rich and poor is greater than for four decades.

The panel found that data confirms that "social background really matters" in the life chances of a child. The panel looked at inequality between men and women, between different ethnic groups, between social class groups, and between those living in disadvantaged and other areas. "There remain deep-seated and systematic differences in economic outcomes between social groups," the report said.

The report found that although earnings inequality between the genders had narrowed somewhat in recent years, weekly earnings of women in full-time employment were still 22 percent less than those of men.

As for pay discrepancies between ethnic groups, the panel added that when employed "nearly all other groups have hourly pay less than white British men, although several groups (including Black Caribbean women) have higher pay than white British women."

Historically, inequality rose sharpest in the 1980s and 1990s and this rise slowed but did not stop over the past decade