List of Average Wages per Country
Encyclopedia
The average wage is a measure for the financial well-being of a country's inhabitants. A similar measure is GDP per capita. However, GDP (on the income side) = compensation of employees + gross operating surplus
/mixed income + taxes on production - subsidies. This way, various components increase the GDP that are not directly contributing to the well-being of citizens. In particular, the gross operating surplus consists of corporate profits, which is money that companies save, reinvest, or pay to their shareholders in the form of dividends (who may be located outside the country). Even in the case of reinvestment, much of the money moves offshore, especially with larger multi-national companies. In order to measure the part of the income generated by the domestic economy that is actually earned by the employees, it is better to break down the GDP to its components and consider only wages and salaries
.
member countries. The figure is derived by taking the national accounts
aggregate of wages and salaries, dividing them by the national accounts aggregate for average wage and salary employment, and multiplying it by the ratio of average weekly working hours per full-time employee to average weekly working hours for all employees. The resulting estimates correspond to average annual wages per full-time equivalent dependent employee. The calculations were made using the latest data from the OECD. Wages and salaries are a component of GDP on the income side.
Since PPP
conversion is a universally accepted way to compare income (including wages), the data listed are in PPPs (for private consumption).
According to the OECD, the figures here may not match that of other sources for a variety of reasons; National Accounts (NA) wages include both full-time and part-time workers at a full-time equivalent rate. This is likely to reduce the level of NA wages (as compared to average earnings from only full-time jobs) since average wages for part-time workers, even at a full-time equivalent rate, are lower than average earnings from full-time jobs; The lower level of NA wages for certain countries such as Germany, as compared to average earnings reported from some well-known surveys, probably reflects the inclusion of employees in mini (part-time) jobs and apprenticeships. Low-paid apprentices are counted as employees in national accounts and labour force surveys, but are omitted from structure of earnings surveys; Some alternative estimates, for instance those based on labour cost surveys, are limited to establishments with ten or more employees. These surveys tend to overstate average wages, relative to the more comprehensive coverage of NA wages.
Gross operating surplus
In the national accounts, is the portion of income derived from production by incorporated enterprises that is earned by the capital factor. It is calculated as a balancing item in the of the national accounts....
/mixed income + taxes on production - subsidies. This way, various components increase the GDP that are not directly contributing to the well-being of citizens. In particular, the gross operating surplus consists of corporate profits, which is money that companies save, reinvest, or pay to their shareholders in the form of dividends (who may be located outside the country). Even in the case of reinvestment, much of the money moves offshore, especially with larger multi-national companies. In order to measure the part of the income generated by the domestic economy that is actually earned by the employees, it is better to break down the GDP to its components and consider only wages and salaries
Wages and Salaries
In the national accounts, in accordance with the System of National Accounts, wages and salaries include the values of any social contributions, income taxes , etc., payable by the employee even if they are actually withheld by the employer for administrative convenience or other reasons and paid...
.
Methodology
The data presented represents full-time average annual gross wages and salaries in the entire economy of selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
member countries. The figure is derived by taking the national accounts
National accounts
National accounts or national account systems are the implementation of complete and consistent accounting techniques for measuring the economic activity of a nation. These include detailed underlying measures that rely on double-entry accounting...
aggregate of wages and salaries, dividing them by the national accounts aggregate for average wage and salary employment, and multiplying it by the ratio of average weekly working hours per full-time employee to average weekly working hours for all employees. The resulting estimates correspond to average annual wages per full-time equivalent dependent employee. The calculations were made using the latest data from the OECD. Wages and salaries are a component of GDP on the income side.
Since PPP
Purchasing power parity
In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
conversion is a universally accepted way to compare income (including wages), the data listed are in PPPs (for private consumption).
According to the OECD, the figures here may not match that of other sources for a variety of reasons; National Accounts (NA) wages include both full-time and part-time workers at a full-time equivalent rate. This is likely to reduce the level of NA wages (as compared to average earnings from only full-time jobs) since average wages for part-time workers, even at a full-time equivalent rate, are lower than average earnings from full-time jobs; The lower level of NA wages for certain countries such as Germany, as compared to average earnings reported from some well-known surveys, probably reflects the inclusion of employees in mini (part-time) jobs and apprenticeships. Low-paid apprentices are counted as employees in national accounts and labour force surveys, but are omitted from structure of earnings surveys; Some alternative estimates, for instance those based on labour cost surveys, are limited to establishments with ten or more employees. These surveys tend to overstate average wages, relative to the more comprehensive coverage of NA wages.
Average Full Time Year Round Equivalent Gross Wages & Salaries (PPP)
| Rank | Country | 2010 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States |
52,607 |
| 2 |  Luxembourg |
52,110 |
| 3 |  Switzerland |
49,810 |
| 4 |  Republic of Ireland |
48,757 |
| 5 |  Netherlands |
45,671 |
| 6 |  Norway |
44,164 |
| 7 |  United Kingdom |
44,008 |
| 8 |  Denmark |
43,190 |
| 9 |  Belgium |
43,023 |
| 10 |  Australia |
42,550 |
| 11 |  Austria |
42,005 |
| 12 |  Canada |
41,691 |
| 13 |  Germany |
38,325 |
| 14 |  Early Modern France |
38,124 |
| 15 |  Sweden |
36,826 |
| 16 |  Finland |
35,707 |
| 17 |  Japan |
33,900 |
| 18 |  Spain |
33,656 |
| 19 |  South Korea |
33,221 |
| 20 |  Italy |
32,657 |
| 21 |  Slovenia |
32,308 |
| 22 |  Greece |
27,484 |
| 23 |  Portugal |
23,173 |
| 24 |  Czech Republic |
20,587 |
| 25 |  Slovakia |
18,719 |
| 26 |  Hungary |
18,667 |
| 27 |  Poland |
18,380 |
| 28 |  Estonia |
17,145 |
See also
- Compensation of Employees (per hour)Compensation of Employees (per hour)The compensation of employees per hour is a measure for the financial well-being of a country's inhabitants. A similar measure is the GDP per capita. However, gross domestic product = compensation of employees + gross operating surplus/mixed income + taxes on production - subsidies...
- International Ranking of Household Income
- OECD
- Wages and SalariesWages and SalariesIn the national accounts, in accordance with the System of National Accounts, wages and salaries include the values of any social contributions, income taxes , etc., payable by the employee even if they are actually withheld by the employer for administrative convenience or other reasons and paid...
External links
- GDP per capita by country Interactive GDP chart that allows filtering by various national groupings (such as NATO, EU, BRICBRICIn economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development...
, ASEAN etc.)