Average hourly earnings of employees in France

France: Average hourly earnings of employees was 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices
Change on year
up 8.0%
World rank
10th
of 64 countries
All-time high
18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices
in 2020
All-time low
11.81 international-$ in 2021 prices
in 2005
Years of data
16
2005–2020

Average hourly earnings of employees in France, 2005–2020

051015202005201220202005: 11.8 international-$ in 2021 prices2006: 12.1 international-$ in 2021 prices2007: 12.5 international-$ in 2021 prices2008: 12.8 international-$ in 2021 prices2009: 13.4 international-$ in 2021 prices2010: 13.5 international-$ in 2021 prices2011: 13.9 international-$ in 2021 prices2012: 14.2 international-$ in 2021 prices2013: 15.3 international-$ in 2021 prices2014: 15.3 international-$ in 2021 prices2015: 15 international-$ in 2021 prices2016: 15.4 international-$ in 2021 prices2017: 15.6 international-$ in 2021 prices2018: 16.1 international-$ in 2021 prices2019: 17.4 international-$ in 2021 prices2020: 18.8 international-$ in 2021 prices

Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in international-$ in 2021 prices.

Analysis

France recorded 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices for average hourly earnings of employees in 2020. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.

That represents a change of up 8.0% on the previous year and up 39.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, average hourly earnings of employees in France peaked at 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11.81 international-$ in 2021 prices, in 2005.

France ranks 10th of 64 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 12.53 international-$ in 2021 prices 11.81 international-$ in 2021 prices 13.39 international-$ in 2021 prices 5
2010s 15.16 international-$ in 2021 prices 13.45 international-$ in 2021 prices 17.37 international-$ in 2021 prices 10
2020s 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices 1

Countries ranked near France

  1. 7 Spain 25.97 international-$ in 2021 prices compare
  2. 8 Sweden 25.41 international-$ in 2021 prices compare
  3. 9 United Kingdom 21.77 international-$ in 2021 prices compare
  4. 11 Hungary 18.14 international-$ in 2021 prices compare
  5. 12 Israel 16.3 international-$ in 2021 prices compare
  6. 13 Slovakia 16.04 international-$ in 2021 prices compare

See the full ranking of 64 places →

More reference data data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is average hourly earnings of employees in France?
Average hourly earnings of employees in France was 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices in 2020, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest average hourly earnings of employees recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 18.76 international-$ in 2021 prices in 2020.
What is the lowest average hourly earnings of employees recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 11.81 international-$ in 2021 prices in 2005.
How does France rank for average hourly earnings of employees?
France ranks 10th out of 64 countries with data for 2020.
Is average hourly earnings of employees rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 39.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average hourly earnings of employees. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Average hourly earnings of employees
Unit
international-$ in 2021 prices
Source
International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
64 places, 923 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

Gross remuneration for time worked or work done, vacation, and other types of paid leave.