When assessed using the Gini coefficient, South America gets very high
numbers. What does this signify?

High Gini coefficient signifies big disproportion in the distribution of wealth.

Explanation:

The Gini coefficient is a measurement that is used to represent that dispersal of wealth/income among the population. It can be applied on local, regional, or global level. Basically, a coefficient of 0 means that the wealth is distributed equally in the society, while if the coefficient is 1, then it means that there is maximum disproportion in the distribution of wealth.

South America, as a region, shows high values on the Gini coefficient, meaning that the wealth is highly disproportionately distributed among the population. This can easily be seen in the fact that the majority of the wealth is controlled by several people in each of the countries in the region, while the rest is divided among everyone else. Also, the urban areas tend to have much more wealth than the rural ones, which makes another big disproportion in the distribution of wealth.