Public sector wage premium, by education level: Tertiary education (compared to formal wage employees) by country
Countries reporting
53
Highest
0.663 compared to formal wage employees
Colombia
Lowest
-0.3742 compared to formal wage employees
Russia
Median
0.1202 compared to formal wage employees
Years covered
22
2000–2021
Data points
657
What the numbers show
Public sector wage premium, by education level: Tertiary education (compared to formal wage employees) is currently reported for 53 countries. The highest value is 0.663 compared to formal wage employees in Colombia; the lowest is -0.3742 compared to formal wage employees in Russia.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.1202 compared to formal wage employees, and the mean is 0.1139 compared to formal wage employees.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 34 countries rose and 19 fell. The largest increase was in Dominican Republic (up 1,690.9%), and the largest decrease in Iceland (down 4,272.7%).
Public sector wage premium, by education level: Tertiary education: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 0.663 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | up 86.5% | rising |
| 2 | Dominican Republic | 0.5848 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 1,690.9% | volatile |
| 3 | Ecuador | 0.418 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 63.3% | volatile |
| 4 | El Salvador | 0.3749 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 42.9% | volatile |
| 5 | Zambia | 0.3586 compared to formal wage employees | 2014 | up 198.6% | volatile |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 0.3075 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 22.0% | volatile |
| 7 | Brazil | 0.284 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 87.6% | volatile |
| 8 | Panama | 0.2835 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 293.4% | volatile |
| 9 | Turkey | 0.2696 compared to formal wage employees | 2010 | up 893.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Spain | 0.2474 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 20.0% | flat |
| 11 | Portugal | 0.2374 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 30.2% | falling |
| 12 | Tanzania | 0.2237 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | up 810.1% | volatile |
| 13 | Luxembourg | 0.2226 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 471.8% | volatile |
| 14 | Namibia | 0.2223 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 1,183.0% | volatile |
| 15 | Ethiopia | 0.1993 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 779.7% | volatile |
| 16 | Lithuania | 0.1969 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 17 | Peru | 0.1958 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 228.8% | volatile |
| 18 | Cyprus | 0.1883 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 46.7% | falling |
| 19 | Chile | 0.1782 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 35.8% | volatile |
| 20 | Australia | 0.1622 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 24.2% | volatile |
| 21 | Estonia | 0.1532 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 188.8% | rising |
| 22 | Paraguay | 0.1407 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 190.6% | volatile |
| 23 | Ireland | 0.1388 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 39.8% | falling |
| 24 | Greece | 0.1372 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 62.7% | volatile |
| 25 | Latvia | 0.1321 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 39.3% | falling |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 0.131 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 198.8% | volatile |
| 27 | Bolivia | 0.1202 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 885.3% | volatile |
| 28 | Hungary | 0.1121 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 75.7% | volatile |
| 29 | Mexico | 0.1115 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 48.7% | volatile |
| 30 | Pakistan | 0.0967 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | up 26.6% | volatile |
| 31 | Honduras | 0.0952 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 115.2% | volatile |
| 32 | Uruguay | 0.0869 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 198.9% | volatile |
| 33 | Austria | 0.0836 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 72.1% | volatile |
| 34 | Romania | 0.0726 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 288.0% | volatile |
| 35 | Serbia | 0.0645 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 9.5% | volatile |
| 36 | Guatemala | 0.0638 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 236.2% | volatile |
| 37 | Italy | 0.0318 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 76.7% | volatile |
| 38 | Croatia | 0.0131 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 47.7% | volatile |
| 39 | Switzerland | -0.0047 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 95.8% | volatile |
| 40 | Malta | -0.0098 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 70.8% | volatile |
| 42 | Argentina | -0.0129 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 65.2% | volatile |
| 43 | Poland | -0.0129 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 116.8% | volatile |
| 44 | Czechia | -0.0161 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 53.2% | rising |
| 45 | Slovakia | -0.0182 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 60.7% | volatile |
| 46 | United Kingdom | -0.0374 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | down 248.0% | volatile |
| 47 | Finland | -0.0521 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 1,118.8% | volatile |
| 48 | Belgium | -0.0558 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 32.2% | volatile |
| 49 | Iceland | -0.0975 compared to formal wage employees | 2013 | down 4,272.7% | volatile |
| 50 | France | -0.1069 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 85.3% | volatile |
| 51 | Sri Lanka | -0.2292 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 82.0% | falling |
| 52 | Armenia | -0.2617 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | down 157.6% | volatile |
| 53 | Moldova | -0.2776 compared to formal wage employees | 2012 | up 4.9% | falling |
| 54 | Russia | -0.3742 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | down 79.3% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- South Africa -0.0122 compared to formal wage employees