Public sector wage premium, by occupational group: Professionals (compared to formal wage employees) by country
Countries reporting
52
Highest
0.5329 compared to formal wage employees
Zambia
Lowest
-0.3353 compared to formal wage employees
Moldova
Median
-0.0229 compared to formal wage employees
Years covered
22
2000–2021
Data points
604
What the numbers show
Public sector wage premium, by occupational group: Professionals (compared to formal wage employees) is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 0.5329 compared to formal wage employees in Zambia; the lowest is -0.3353 compared to formal wage employees in Moldova.
The median across all reporting countries is -0.0229 compared to formal wage employees, and the mean is 0.0175 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 18 fell. The largest increase was in Colombia (up 1,869.9%), and the largest decrease in Iceland (down 2,115.2%).
Public sector wage premium, by occupational group: Professionals: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia | 0.5329 compared to formal wage employees | 2014 | up 270.8% | volatile |
| 2 | Colombia | 0.5042 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | up 1,869.9% | volatile |
| 3 | Guatemala | 0.3843 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 213.1% | volatile |
| 4 | Pakistan | 0.3741 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | down 4.7% | flat |
| 5 | El Salvador | 0.3438 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 190.4% | volatile |
| 6 | Dominican Republic | 0.2722 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 229.1% | volatile |
| 7 | Ecuador | 0.1968 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 253.5% | volatile |
| 8 | Ethiopia | 0.1899 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 523.4% | volatile |
| 9 | Honduras | 0.1326 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 137.9% | volatile |
| 10 | Luxembourg | 0.1317 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 203.0% | volatile |
| 11 | Turkey | 0.1121 compared to formal wage employees | 2010 | up 38.5% | volatile |
| 12 | Portugal | 0.0905 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 69.9% | volatile |
| 13 | Paraguay | 0.0901 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 182.2% | volatile |
| 14 | Spain | 0.0896 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 4.4% | volatile |
| 15 | Bolivia | 0.0816 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 189.4% | volatile |
| 16 | Peru | 0.0674 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 131.4% | volatile |
| 17 | Namibia | 0.0629 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 139.4% | volatile |
| 18 | Costa Rica | 0.0622 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 120.7% | volatile |
| 19 | Sri Lanka | 0.043 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 169.7% | volatile |
| 20 | Lithuania | 0.0302 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 73.1% | volatile |
| 21 | Brazil | 0.0247 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 122.1% | volatile |
| 22 | Estonia | 0.0178 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 113.4% | volatile |
| 23 | Cyprus | 0.0149 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 89.7% | volatile |
| 24 | South Africa | 0.0133 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 146.2% | volatile |
| 25 | Malta | -0.015 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 77.7% | volatile |
| 26 | Switzerland | -0.0208 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 82.1% | rising |
| 27 | Romania | -0.025 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 71.3% | rising |
| 28 | Australia | -0.0286 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 76.8% | volatile |
| 29 | Chile | -0.0396 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 28.5% | volatile |
| 30 | Mexico | -0.0408 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 141.4% | volatile |
| 31 | Italy | -0.0493 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 358.1% | volatile |
| 32 | Croatia | -0.0517 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 118.5% | volatile |
| 33 | Austria | -0.0629 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 137.0% | volatile |
| 34 | Russia | -0.0647 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 83.3% | rising |
| 35 | Serbia | -0.0681 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 33.4% | falling |
| 36 | Uruguay | -0.0759 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 33.4% | volatile |
| 37 | Hungary | -0.0786 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 17.8% | rising |
| 38 | Greece | -0.0912 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 10.5% | flat |
| 39 | United Kingdom | -0.0926 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | down 209.9% | falling |
| 40 | Argentina | -0.098 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | down 775.9% | volatile |
| 41 | Bulgaria | -0.1045 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 47.6% | rising |
| 42 | Belgium | -0.1251 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 31.0% | falling |
| 43 | Poland | -0.1367 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 35.5% | rising |
| 44 | France | -0.1433 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 21.5% | falling |
| 45 | Ireland | -0.1465 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 205.8% | volatile |
| 46 | Latvia | -0.1515 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 458.8% | volatile |
| 47 | Slovakia | -0.1524 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 82.4% | flat |
| 48 | Finland | -0.1636 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 165.5% | volatile |
| 49 | Czechia | -0.1655 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 213.5% | falling |
| 50 | Iceland | -0.1993 compared to formal wage employees | 2013 | down 2,115.2% | falling |
| 51 | Panama | -0.2277 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 20.5% | rising |
| 52 | Moldova | -0.3353 compared to formal wage employees | 2012 | up 0.0% | rising |