If you’re an adult human being, then it’s very likely that you work for a living. And many of us who work are paid money to do so – which obviously should be the case. Incomes around the world vary greatly, not just by country and even the city or region within your country, but by the industry, and your job position within the industry. That being said, not everyone is the owner of a company, or the SEO, or the head manager, or even a general manager. As the nature of jobs is, most of the workers are… workers. You get told when and how to work, when you can and can’t go home, and you’re told how much you can make, likely a standard salary. Of course salaries will change greatly depending on the job and location, from a shirt maker in China, to a bank teller in England, to a burger flipper in the United States, to a salesman in Australia, someone who’s self-employed, and so on.
I can’t cover this extremely wide and large topic in this article. But i will try to bring you a big picture of Global Average Salaries, and perhaps even be of some help in your finances wherever you are in the world. This information is of course without other important factors such as the cost of living, number of family members in a household, inflation, and taxation by country, among others, many of which can have significant impacts. Furthermore, country averages will depend on the number of people, country economics, etc. I hope you enjoy reading this informative article.
I gonna start with United States of America.De Factor of economy around the world, the USA is said to have the highest average income in the world and it’s also among the top highest taxed countries in the world. But this doesn’t mean that everyone in America is making a hefty living. There are still homeless people, poor neighborhoods & those living in poverty conditions, those living on government aid, and minimum wage earners throughout the country. That said, the majority of citizens live in much better conditions than in many other spots of the globe, even many of those that are placed in the low-income bracket.
According to an article by source who claimed to have cited stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the middle salary in the United States for a 40 hour work week, was $849 per week, $44,148 a year, in the last quarter of 2016. That was 2.9% higher than the same time in 2015. The average yearly earnings for professionals, managers, and related occupations was $63,076, while the average yearly earnings for service workers was $28,080. They said that large cities with higher living costs, tended to pay more than in more rural places. They went on to say that:
“Workers age 25 and over without a high school degree had median weekly earnings of $519 at the end of 2016 compared with $698 for high school graduates. College graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree earned $1,270 per week. College graduates with advanced degrees earned a median average of $1476 each week.”
Businessinsider.com brings us a useful infographic about the average wage for almost every job in America: 820 US Occupations and Their Wages (2013) – information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Worldsalaries.org has a great list of US jobs, their net and gross monthly pay rates, mandatory deductions, hours worked, and additional notes. They also have information on other countries.
Mexico
The US’s Southern bordering neighbor, Mexico is a beautiful place. Although it’s not in the top poorest nations in the world, there is poverty plenty enough. In an article by efe.com, they revealed that:
“The average Mexican household consists of 3.8 members, earns $843 a month and is headed by a person just shy of 50 years old, according to the 2014 National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure.”
That’s about 13,239 Pesos a month, 39,719 Pesos (or $2,529) per quarter (every 3 months). However, the article continued to say that the lowest stratum of income workers received an average of just 7,556 Pesos ($481) per quarter! The highest being an average of 143,614 Pesos ($9,147) a quarter.
Those statistics, across all income strata (10 to be precise, according to the article), were said to have fallen 3.5% compared to 2012. The article said that there was a large difference among all the strata in how they spent their money, such as on food and education, with the lowest strata spending an average of 50.7% of income on food, beverages, and tobacco in 2014, compared to 41.7% in strata 5, and only 22.5% in strata 10. Those in the highest strata, were said to allocate 20.6% of their budgets to education and entertainment, with strata 1 only giving 5.6% to those categories.
In an article by source, reporting on a study of the 34 member countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), they said that: “… the gap between wages and hours worked is larger in Mexico than in any other member country.” It also stated, that as well as the richest 10% in the country making more than 30 times that of the poorest 10%, the country’s bottom 20% don’t even make enough to eat three meals a day. The article also made mention that in 2014, Mexican workers worked 2,327 hours on average, compared to 1,796 hours that same year by American workers, according to OECD data. Despite the extra hours, workers in Mexico were paid an average of $12,850 during the year (based on purchasing power parity), the bottom of OECD’s list, with American’s apparently earning an average of $57,139 during the same time period.
For more information on Mexican salaries, visit source Mexico page.
Canada
Canada, the US’s Northern bordering neighbor. They aren’t doing too bad as far as average salaries go. According to an article by careers.workopolis.com, last year (2016), in September, Canadian employee’s average wage was $952 a week, just under $50,000 a year, a 0.4% increase from the previous year over the same time period. You can find more information by province in the article.According to yackler.ca, the average minimum wage in Canada is $10.45 an hour, or $21,736 a year, assuming a 40 hour work week. The article also looks into wages by region and profession, as well as some of the highest paid jobs.
China
Some countries may not be so easy to get accurate numbers, China may be one of them. But, here’s the information that was immediately available & easy to find. Chinadaily.com had a positive article last updated in January of 2016, in which they stated:
“The average salary among 32 major cities in China stands at 6,070 yuan ($922.64) for job vacancies posted online for the winter of 2015, with Beijing topping the list at 9,227 yuan, followed by Shanghai (8,664 yuan) and Shenzhen (7,728 yuan) according to online data released by zhaopin.com, a leading job hunting website.”
The article was not specific, but i believe this to be talking about monthly salaries. Of course, with 6,070 Yuan being the average wage in 32 cities, one can only imagine what the minimum wage is in those cities, and how much less in rural and village areas. The article pointed out that Hays (apparently a world leading recruitment company), reported that 44% of Chinese employers had planned to raise salaries by 6-10% while 15% planned to raise them more than 10% back during 2016.
However, despite their optimism, clb.org (China Labour Bulletin) paints a very different picture, with details apparently left out by China Daily. Clb.org stated that:
“Wages in China have increased steadily over the last decade to the point where the country is no longer considered by international business to be an abundant source of cheap labour. However hundreds of millions of Chinese workers are still struggling to make a living wage: The cost of living in China’s cities increases all the time and the gap between the rich and the poor shows no signs of closing. Moreover, as economic growth slows down to less than seven percent per year, lay-offs, wage arrears and unemployment are becoming increasingly serious problems for both China’s workers and the government.”
The article points out that it was in order to retain workers, that several regional governments across China were “forced” to increase minimum wage, reluctantly it would seem. The article states that in 2016, while the minimum wage in most major cities and provincial capitals doubled to 1,600 Yuan (US $239) per month (1,120 Yuan in 2010 to 2,190 Yuan in 2016 in the financial capital of Shanghai), poorer provinces & smaller cities had their minimum wage rise to just 1,000 Yuan.Many manufacturers (such as those in shoe, toy, and garment industries) have moved from China to places like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia, often times bringing back the pay & working conditions seen in China 10 years ago. This trend will hopefully not continue. In Cambodia, pressure by textile worker unions led to a rise in minimum wage from US $61 per month to US $140 per month in 2010 and the beginning of 2016 respectively for garment and shoe factory workers.
Japan
Let’s get a bit out of salary crazy town, for a refreshing look at one of China’s oceanic Asian neighbors… Japan: “land of the rising sun”, Samurai, sushi, and thong donning Sumos,Satoshi and etc.
At first glance, Japan’s average Salary looks pretty decent. According to resources.realestate.co, the overall average salary in 2016 was 4,420,000 Yen ($39,000 USD) a year. This also had some significant increases with age and other factors. According to nbakki.hatenblog.com, who has a list of occupations spanning assuming from the highest to the lowest paid. The lowest paid person on their list was a sewing machine worker, who apparently makes 1,987,000 Yen a year (currently $17,746.77) – a little over $1,478.89 USD per month.
Indonesia
Indonesia is an Island Nation, composed of several thousand islands and several million residents. According to a graph on salaryexplorer.com, the average Indonesian monthly salary is reportedly 16,191,354 IDR (around US $1,214.01), with a median of 10,000,000 IDR (about US $749.73). It included the maximum rate of 98,000,000 IDR (around US $7,347.98) per month, and the lowest rate of just 13,000 IDR (around US $.97) a month.
Jakarta having the highest at 2,700,000 IDR (currently around US $202.42) per month.
Philippines
And close to Indonesia, the Philippines also have very low average and minimum wages. Worldsalaries.org has a breakdown of many occupations and their average salaries. According to an article by rappler.com, the International Labor Organization has pegged the Philippine’s average monthly income at $279, which according to them is 19% of the world’s average. The title of the article is: “PH at bottom 3 of ‘World’s Wages”. It continues on to say this..
“MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine average monthly wage of $279 (roughly Peso 11,700) is 19% of the world’s average as calculated by the International Labor Organization (ILO). The calculation placed the country at the bottom 3 of the 72 listed countries, just above Pakistan and Tajikistan.”
The study DID NOT however include the world’s poorest countries which is strange. The study calculated national averages by multiplying the size of the workforce per nation, and only included wage earners, not self-employed workers.
Malaysia
The front page of Google didn’t have much of what I m looking for, so i had to go beyond… to page 2 hehehe..It’s a good idea to look well past the 1st page when necessary. Before i explore on page 2, i did find one clue of what find there. An apparent expat commented on the blog wonderfulmalaysia.com, that he believed the local average income for workers was between RM 2,000 and RM 3,000 (per month).
According to salaryexplorer.com, the monthly average Malaysian salary is 7,391 MYR (around US $1,725.06), a median of 5,000 MYR (around US $1,167). It showed a maximum of 83,333 MYR (around US $19,449.88), but a minimum of only 800 MYR (around US $186.72)!
Here’s are the statement by malaysiandigest.com:
“According to online recruitment platform JobStreet.com, in its latest survey, 60 per cent of fresh graduates expected a salary of RM3,500 (US$818) for their first job, while 30 per cent want to be paid as high as RM6,500 (US$1,520). However, the average salary offered to fresh graduates in Malaysia is between RM2,100 to RM2,500 (US$491 to US$585).”
And that’s just for fresh graduates, imagine those with low education levels.
Africa (continent)
Ok, so it’s not technically a country, but a continent, but for the sake of time I will treat it as a large country, such as the US or China. It’s important to note that figures will likely be reflective of large cities and urban towns, and will likely NOT be reflective of many, such as of villages and tribes that live substantially off of the land,many of them are in poverty.Many others will likely have extremely low wages, which may not be recorded. That said, there are major development advancements in several African countries, which are actually very modern in infrastructure and technology. Some have even speculated that Africa is the next region for a huge tech boom.
According to economist.com
"A NEW World Bank paper" paints a rather depressing picture of global poverty. From 1993 to 2008 the average per capita income of sub-Saharan African economies barely budged—it increased from $742 to $762 per year (measured in 2005 purchasing-power parity-adjusted dollars). If we exclude South Africa and the Seychelles, we see a decline from $608 to $556 over the period.”
Therichest.com gives a list of the apparent average annual salaries in what they claim to be Africa’s top 10 lowest income countries, they are as follows:
Togo – $1,051 per year
Mozambique – $1,024 per year
Madagascar – $978 per year
Malawi – $902 per year
Central African Republic – $857 per year
Niger – $665 per year
Liberia – $655 per year
Eritrea – $566 per year
Burundi – $560 per year
Democratic Republic of Congo – $422 per year
However, as mentioned above, some African countries are doing much better, at least as far as salaries are concerned. For example, according to businesstech.co.za, in South Africa (end of 2015), the lowest paying job sectors paid an average monthly salary of R11,456 before bonuses (around US $889.15) – R11,754 after bonuses (around US $912.38). The highest earners made an average of R34,444 (around US $2,673.21) per month before bonuses – R37,228 (around US $2,889.43) after bonuses. The overall average was R17,517 (around US $1,359.54) per month, including bonuses and overtime, according to Stats SA.
As you can see, there’s a wide range of salaries on this continent, and much need of building the overall economy.
India
India’s a much smaller land than Africa region, the population of India is around 1.3billion and has had recent economic boosts, while many still remain in lower wages.
According to analyticsindiamag.com, the overall average salary in India across all experience levels and skill sets, ending in 2015, was INR 9.5 Lacs (around US $14,817.13)per year. Cities receive much higher average wages.
Australia
Australia the Bush,is home of the Sydney Opera House, Crocodile Duntee, and the former, beloved, Crocodile Hunter, Steve Orwin. The following information again is for jobs, it should be remembered that there are many in Australia, such as the Aboriginals, who do not work a job, but rather live off of the land, many in poverty conditions.
According to livingin-australia.com:
“Full-time earnings in Australia averaged A$78,832 a year in the second quarter of 2016. (Seasonally adjusted wages – Bureau of Statistics.) If overtime and bonuses are included, average Australian earnings were A$81,947 per annum.The average full-time male salary (excluding overtime) in Australia is A$83,902 per annum. The average full-time female salary in Australia (excluding overtime) is A$70,392 per annum. Workers in Capital Territory are Australia’s highest paid workers while Tasmania has the lowest average salary.
The article continues to break down the salaries by territory and occupation. According to abs.gov.au. in November of 2016, the average full time, adult, ordinary time, weekly salary was AU $1,533.10.And an all employee average weekly total earnings of $1,163.50!
Australia does however, as does every country, have a minimum wage as well. According to salaryexplorer.com, the maximum average salary per month was AUD $40,000, the average was AUD $7,145, the median was AUD 6,000, and the minimum was AUD $870.
Germany
Worldsalaries.com, using data from 2003, stated that the average yearly net income, including dependent and self-employment, was $25,146, with a gross of $36,444 (20,843 Euros & 30,207 Euros at that time respectively). According to more recent data, shared by tradingeconomics.com, in January 2017, the average monthly gross salary in Germany was 3,745 Euros (US $4,386.03).
Here’s information by salaryexplorer.com, showing that there are most certainly lower salaries in Germany as well. Their maximum monthly salary recorded was 17,500 EUR (US $20,495.65), with an average of 4,101 EUR (US $4,804.12), a median of 3,589 EUR (US $4,204.33), and a minimum of only 600 EUR (US $702.86).
France
According to reinisfischer.com, which has a list of all the countries in the European Union, France had an average monthly salary in 2016 of 2,180 EUR (US $2,553.32). Salaryexplorer.com said that France had a maximum salary per month of 17,000 EUR (US $19,914.65), an average of 4,543 EUR (US $5,320.67), a median of 3,750 EUR (US $4,390.56), and a minimum of 795 EUR (US $930.80).
Wageindicator.org reported that the average gross wage was 9.61 – 9.76 EUR (US $11.25 – $11.42) per hour, which led to a 1,153 EUR (US $1,349.95) net monthly average wage. Full time hours being 35 hours a week.
England
Here’s an article by reed.co.uk showing the average yearly earnings of specific jobs. According to info that recruitmentbuzz.co.uk shed light on, the median wage for fresh graduates back in 2016 was between 19,000 – 22,000 British Pounds ($24,937.50 USD – $28,896.12 USD). Here’s an extensive article on wikipedia.com about England’s average salaries, from bar staff to aircraft pilots & engineers.
Russia
Rbth.com reported in May 20th, 2016:
“The average wage in Russia fell below $450 per month, Mikhail Matovnikov, the chief analyst of Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, told journalists during a business meeting on May 19. This makes labor costs in the country cheaper than in China.
The average monthly salary in Russia is $433, which is less than in Serbia, Romania, China or Poland, Matovnikov said.”
In more recent stats, according to tradingeconomics.com, the average monthly wage in Russia in June 2017 was 41,640 Rubles (around US $701.34). It is worth noting that although the average monthly wage had been on a consecutive rise every month since the beginning of the year, it is still lower than the sudden spike seen in December 2016 of 47,554 Rubles (around US $800.95). However, March – June 2017 were all consecutively higher than the 5 months prior to the December 2016 spike, which had no large movements.
Iceland
According to tradingeconomics.com, in 2015 the average salary was 553,000 ISK (around US $5,327.04) per month. That’s a rise from the 2008 average, which was only 380,000 ISK (around US $3,660.54) per month.
According to salaryexplorer.com, the maximum Icelandic wage was 760,000 ISK (around US $7,321.08), an average wage of 540,529 ISK (around US $5,206.91), a median wage of 506,219 ISK (around US $4,876.40), and a minimum wage of 350,000 ISK (around US $3,371.55).
Unfortunately, due to time constraints,i unable to cover countries, continents, and regions such as: South America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Far Northern Europe, and Oceanic Islands, among others. But i encourage you to look these up for yourself using different and multiple sources and search criteria. Here’s a couple more sources on global average incomes to get you started..
An article by source
An article by source
As you can see, there is a wide spectrum of salaries around the world. I hope with this article can help you in some way, perhaps to find your next job or charity project.
I put much effort on this article
and thanks for reading.
