Public sector wage premium, by education level: No education (compared to formal wage employees) by country
Countries reporting
51
Highest
0.7668 compared to formal wage employees
Malta
Lowest
-0.4864 compared to formal wage employees
Romania
Median
0.0836 compared to formal wage employees
Years covered
22
2000–2021
Data points
612
What the numbers show
Public sector wage premium, by education level: No education (compared to formal wage employees) is currently reported for 51 countries. The highest value is 0.7668 compared to formal wage employees in Malta; the lowest is -0.4864 compared to formal wage employees in Romania.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.0836 compared to formal wage employees, and the mean is 0.1057 compared to formal wage employees.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 26 countries rose and 24 fell. The largest increase was in El Salvador (up 604.8%), and the largest decrease in Iceland (down 4,272.7%).
Public sector wage premium, by education level: No education: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malta | 0.7668 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 375.8% | volatile |
| 2 | Panama | 0.6479 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 43.3% | volatile |
| 3 | Ecuador | 0.5852 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 9.4% | falling |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 0.5802 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 269.0% | volatile |
| 5 | Italy | 0.5571 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 30.1% | volatile |
| 6 | Paraguay | 0.4753 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 406.1% | volatile |
| 7 | Argentina | 0.3919 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 234.8% | volatile |
| 8 | Colombia | 0.3336 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | up 3.9% | volatile |
| 9 | Costa Rica | 0.3075 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 229.9% | volatile |
| 10 | Turkey | 0.2438 compared to formal wage employees | 2010 | down 82.0% | volatile |
| 11 | Lithuania | 0.1969 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 12 | Pakistan | 0.1949 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | down 50.8% | flat |
| 13 | Cyprus | 0.1883 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 60.0% | volatile |
| 14 | Sri Lanka | 0.1651 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 68.5% | volatile |
| 15 | Australia | 0.1622 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 24.2% | volatile |
| 16 | Estonia | 0.1532 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 188.8% | rising |
| 17 | Mexico | 0.1438 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 10.4% | volatile |
| 18 | Latvia | 0.1321 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 39.3% | volatile |
| 19 | Bolivia | 0.1202 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 191.2% | volatile |
| 20 | El Salvador | 0.1165 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 604.8% | volatile |
| 21 | Hungary | 0.1121 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 75.7% | volatile |
| 22 | Honduras | 0.1098 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 172.6% | volatile |
| 23 | Brazil | 0.1093 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | down 27.7% | volatile |
| 24 | Portugal | 0.0939 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 74.7% | volatile |
| 25 | Uruguay | 0.0869 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 85.2% | volatile |
| 26 | Austria | 0.0836 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 72.1% | volatile |
| 27 | Serbia | 0.0645 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | — | volatile |
| 28 | Ethiopia | 0.0638 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | down 94.1% | volatile |
| 29 | Guatemala | 0.0562 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 128.7% | volatile |
| 30 | Belgium | 0.0532 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 116.8% | volatile |
| 31 | Dominican Republic | 0.0429 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 150.0% | rising |
| 32 | Namibia | 0.0164 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 94.8% | volatile |
| 33 | Croatia | 0.0131 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 92.9% | volatile |
| 34 | Spain | 0.0093 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 108.4% | volatile |
| 35 | Peru | 0.0075 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 102.3% | volatile |
| 36 | Switzerland | -0.0047 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 97.4% | volatile |
| 37 | Poland | -0.0129 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 116.3% | volatile |
| 38 | Czechia | -0.0161 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 53.2% | rising |
| 39 | Slovakia | -0.0182 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 60.7% | volatile |
| 40 | United Kingdom | -0.0374 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 41.0% | volatile |
| 41 | France | -0.0409 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 81.3% | volatile |
| 42 | Greece | -0.0503 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 110.8% | volatile |
| 43 | Finland | -0.0521 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 1,118.8% | volatile |
| 44 | Chile | -0.0529 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 145.7% | volatile |
| 45 | Iceland | -0.0975 compared to formal wage employees | 2013 | down 4,272.7% | volatile |
| 46 | Russia | -0.0995 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 52.3% | volatile |
| 47 | Ireland | -0.1219 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 152.8% | volatile |
| 48 | Armenia | -0.1871 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | down 84.1% | volatile |
| 49 | Moldova | -0.2776 compared to formal wage employees | 2012 | up 4.9% | rising |
| 50 | Luxembourg | -0.437 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 223.0% | volatile |
| 51 | Romania | -0.4864 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 1,159.3% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- South Africa -0.5958 compared to formal wage employees