Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in Japan

Japan: Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence was 10.97 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
10.97 Percentage of full-time employment
Change on year
down 4.1%
World rank
31st
of 32 countries
All-time high
15.67 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2018
All-time low
10.97 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2025
Years of data
8
2018–2025

Incidence of low and high pay — High pay Incidence in Japan, 2018–2025

0510152018202120252018: 15.7 Percentage of full-time employment2019: 12.5 Percentage of full-time employment2020: 12.4 Percentage of full-time employment2021: 12 Percentage of full-time employment2022: 11.6 Percentage of full-time employment2023: 11.3 Percentage of full-time employment2024: 11.4 Percentage of full-time employment2025: 11 Percentage of full-time employment

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

Analysis

In 2025, incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in Japan stood at 10.97 Percentage of full-time employment. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.1% on the previous year and down 30.0% over ten years.

That places Japan 31st out of 32 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 14.08 Percentage of full-time employment 12.48 Percentage of full-time employment 15.67 Percentage of full-time employment 2
2020s 11.62 Percentage of full-time employment 10.97 Percentage of full-time employment 12.41 Percentage of full-time employment 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 28 Finland 15.84 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  2. 29 Norway 13.68 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  3. 30 Belgium 12.87 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  4. 32 Denmark 2.5 Percentage of full-time employment compare

See the full ranking of 40 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in Japan?
Incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence in Japan was 10.97 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 15.67 Percentage of full-time employment in 2018.
What is the lowest incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 10.97 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025.
How does Japan rank for incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence?
Japan ranks 31st out of 32 countries with data for 2025.
Is incidence of low and high pay — high pay incidence rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 30.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan 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 Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incidence-of-low-and-high-pay-high-pay-incidence/japan/

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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.