Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD

European Union (19 countries) in OECD: Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence was 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
20.34 Percentage of full-time employment
Change on year
down 6.4%
Rank
3rd
of 7 regions
All-time high
23.24 Percentage of full-time employment
in 1999
All-time low
20.34 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2024
Years of data
30
1995–2024

Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD, 1995–2024

05101520251995200920241995: 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment1996: 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment1997: 23.1 Percentage of full-time employment1998: 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment1999: 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment2000: 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment2001: 22.7 Percentage of full-time employment2002: 22.6 Percentage of full-time employment2003: 22.6 Percentage of full-time employment2004: 22.5 Percentage of full-time employment2005: 22.5 Percentage of full-time employment2006: 22.2 Percentage of full-time employment2007: 22.4 Percentage of full-time employment2008: 22.5 Percentage of full-time employment2009: 22.6 Percentage of full-time employment2010: 22.8 Percentage of full-time employment2011: 23 Percentage of full-time employment2012: 22.9 Percentage of full-time employment2013: 22.9 Percentage of full-time employment2014: 23.1 Percentage of full-time employment2015: 22.9 Percentage of full-time employment2016: 22.7 Percentage of full-time employment2017: 22.7 Percentage of full-time employment2018: 22.7 Percentage of full-time employment2019: 21.5 Percentage of full-time employment2020: 21.5 Percentage of full-time employment2021: 20.8 Percentage of full-time employment2022: 21 Percentage of full-time employment2023: 21.7 Percentage of full-time employment2024: 20.3 Percentage of full-time employment

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of full-time employment.

Analysis

European Union (19 countries) in OECD recorded 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment for incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 30 years on record.

The figure is down 6.4% on the previous year and down 11.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD peaked at 23.24 Percentage of full-time employment in 1999 and was at its lowest, 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment, in 2024.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.

Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD, year by year

Annual values for Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD, 1995 to 2024.
Year Percentage of full-time employment Change
1995 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment
1996 23.19 Percentage of full-time employment -0.0%
1997 23.13 Percentage of full-time employment -0.3%
1998 23.22 Percentage of full-time employment +0.4%
1999 23.24 Percentage of full-time employment +0.1%
2000 23.22 Percentage of full-time employment -0.1%
2001 22.72 Percentage of full-time employment -2.2%
2002 22.63 Percentage of full-time employment -0.4%
2003 22.65 Percentage of full-time employment +0.1%
2004 22.55 Percentage of full-time employment -0.4%
2005 22.5 Percentage of full-time employment -0.2%
2006 22.22 Percentage of full-time employment -1.2%
2007 22.39 Percentage of full-time employment +0.8%
2008 22.48 Percentage of full-time employment +0.4%
2009 22.61 Percentage of full-time employment +0.5%
2010 22.84 Percentage of full-time employment +1.0%
2011 22.95 Percentage of full-time employment +0.5%
2012 22.89 Percentage of full-time employment -0.3%
2013 22.93 Percentage of full-time employment +0.2%
2014 23.05 Percentage of full-time employment +0.5%
2015 22.87 Percentage of full-time employment -0.8%
2016 22.66 Percentage of full-time employment -0.9%
2017 22.67 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2018 22.7 Percentage of full-time employment +0.1%
2019 21.54 Percentage of full-time employment -5.1%
2020 21.5 Percentage of full-time employment -0.2%
2021 20.79 Percentage of full-time employment -3.3%
2022 20.97 Percentage of full-time employment +0.9%
2023 21.72 Percentage of full-time employment +3.6%
2024 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment -6.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 23.2 Percentage of full-time employment 23.13 Percentage of full-time employment 23.24 Percentage of full-time employment 5
2000s 22.6 Percentage of full-time employment 22.22 Percentage of full-time employment 23.22 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2010s 22.71 Percentage of full-time employment 21.54 Percentage of full-time employment 23.05 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2020s 21.06 Percentage of full-time employment 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment 21.72 Percentage of full-time employment 5

Countries ranked near European Union (19 countries) in OECD

  1. 1 Lithuania 29.01 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  2. 1 Croatia 21.88 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  3. 1 Ireland 33.09 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  4. 2 Slovenia 24.97 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  5. 2 Argentina 31.06 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  6. 3 Bulgaria 29.9 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  7. 4 India 29.88 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  8. 5 Israel 28.87 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  9. 5 Latvia 20.1 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  10. 6 Chile 27.6 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  11. 6 Estonia 18.86 Percentage of full-time employment compare

See the full ranking of 40 places →

More reference data data for European Union (19 countries) in OECD

All data for European Union (19 countries) in OECD →

Frequently asked questions

What is incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD?
Incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD was 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence recorded in European Union (19 countries) in OECD?
The highest recorded value was 23.24 Percentage of full-time employment in 1999.
What is the lowest incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence recorded in European Union (19 countries) in OECD?
The lowest recorded value was 20.34 Percentage of full-time employment in 2024.
How does European Union (19 countries) in OECD rank for incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence?
European Union (19 countries) in OECD ranks 3rd out of 7 regions with data for 2024.
Is incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence rising or falling in European Union (19 countries) in OECD?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this European Union (19 countries) in OECD data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in European Union (19 countries) in OECD. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incidence-of-low-and-high-pay-high-pay-incidence/european-union-19-countries-in-oecd/

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About this data

Indicator
Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence
Unit
Percentage of full-time employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
40 places, 618 data points, 1985–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains series on the incidence of low-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning less than two-thirds of gross median earnings of all full-time workers; the incidence of high-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning more than one-and-half time gross median earnings of all full-time workers.