Public sector wage premium (compared to all private employees) by country
Countries reporting
60
Highest
0.9787 compared to all private employees
Zambia
Lowest
-0.3369 compared to all private employees
Moldova
Median
0.1389 compared to all private employees
Years covered
22
2000–2021
Data points
738
What the numbers show
Public sector wage premium (compared to all private employees) is currently reported for 60 countries. The highest value is 0.9787 compared to all private employees in Zambia; the lowest is -0.3369 compared to all private employees in Moldova.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.1389 compared to all private employees, and the mean is 0.2032 compared to all private employees.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.
Over the past decade 34 countries rose and 26 fell. The largest increase was in Estonia (up 195,579.0%), and the largest decrease in France (down 1,176.7%).
Public sector wage premium: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia | 0.9787 compared to all private employees | 2014 | up 109.8% | rising |
| 2 | Colombia | 0.8416 compared to all private employees | 2020 | up 35.9% | rising |
| 3 | Namibia | 0.7327 compared to all private employees | 2015 | down 4.3% | rising |
| 4 | Guatemala | 0.6107 compared to all private employees | 2017 | up 147.8% | rising |
| 5 | El Salvador | 0.5914 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 32.1% | rising |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 0.5502 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 6.7% | rising |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 0.5367 compared to all private employees | 2016 | down 32.5% | falling |
| 8 | Ecuador | 0.5205 compared to all private employees | 2017 | up 6.9% | rising |
| 9 | Tanzania | 0.5114 compared to all private employees | 2020 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 10 | Panama | 0.4784 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 56.3% | falling |
| 11 | Pakistan | 0.4662 compared to all private employees | 2020 | down 1.7% | rising |
| 12 | Honduras | 0.4629 compared to all private employees | 2019 | up 30.8% | rising |
| 13 | Philippines | 0.4496 compared to all private employees | 2014 | up 22.8% | rising |
| 14 | Turkey | 0.401 compared to all private employees | 2010 | down 17.1% | falling |
| 15 | Bolivia | 0.3641 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 296.8% | volatile |
| 16 | Peru | 0.3441 compared to all private employees | 2017 | up 190.8% | volatile |
| 17 | Luxembourg | 0.3343 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 197.0% | rising |
| 18 | Jordan | 0.3134 compared to all private employees | 2016 | up 221.1% | falling |
| 19 | Brazil | 0.293 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 82.4% | rising |
| 20 | Paraguay | 0.29 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 311.8% | rising |
| 21 | Ethiopia | 0.2792 compared to all private employees | 2016 | down 55.1% | volatile |
| 22 | Australia | 0.2529 compared to all private employees | 2015 | up 129.3% | rising |
| 23 | Uruguay | 0.2398 compared to all private employees | 2017 | down 35.3% | rising |
| 24 | Mexico | 0.2255 compared to all private employees | 2019 | down 8.9% | rising |
| 25 | Cyprus | 0.2236 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 26 | Spain | 0.2161 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 16.2% | rising |
| 27 | Dominican Republic | 0.1806 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 463.4% | volatile |
| 28 | Chile | 0.1805 compared to all private employees | 2015 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 29 | Argentina | 0.1466 compared to all private employees | 2021 | down 22.8% | volatile |
| 30 | Greece | 0.1398 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 5.3% | flat |
| 31 | Estonia | 0.1379 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 195,579.0% | volatile |
| 32 | Lithuania | 0.132 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 3.4% | volatile |
| 33 | Ireland | 0.1216 compared to all private employees | 2017 | down 25.3% | flat |
| 34 | Italy | 0.1161 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 35 | Bulgaria | 0.1102 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 180.9% | volatile |
| 36 | Palestine | 0.103 compared to all private employees | 2017 | up 1,056.1% | volatile |
| 37 | Latvia | 0.0826 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 45.9% | volatile |
| 38 | Romania | 0.0825 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 274.5% | volatile |
| 39 | Vietnam | 0.0773 compared to all private employees | 2019 | up 292.0% | volatile |
| 40 | Austria | 0.0765 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 54.0% | falling |
| 41 | Georgia | 0.0634 compared to all private employees | 2013 | up 205.2% | volatile |
| 42 | Serbia | 0.0619 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 134.4% | volatile |
| 43 | Portugal | 0.0472 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 72.4% | falling |
| 44 | Malta | 0.0415 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 477.7% | volatile |
| 45 | Croatia | 0.0412 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 70.5% | falling |
| 46 | Czechia | 0.0357 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 14.3% | volatile |
| 47 | Poland | 0.0089 compared to all private employees | 2017 | down 93.5% | falling |
| 48 | Switzerland | -0.0067 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 91.5% | volatile |
| 49 | Slovakia | -0.0384 compared to all private employees | 2017 | down 331.8% | volatile |
| 50 | United Kingdom | -0.0479 compared to all private employees | 2016 | down 298.4% | volatile |
| 51 | Belgium | -0.0483 compared to all private employees | 2018 | up 34.0% | volatile |
| 52 | Finland | -0.0628 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 539.3% | volatile |
| 53 | Russia | -0.0739 compared to all private employees | 2016 | up 63.0% | rising |
| 54 | Iceland | -0.0815 compared to all private employees | 2013 | up 3.5% | rising |
| 55 | South Africa | -0.0924 compared to all private employees | 2019 | down 127.9% | volatile |
| 56 | Hungary | -0.093 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 229.5% | volatile |
| 57 | Mongolia | -0.1144 compared to all private employees | 2021 | up 17.7% | flat |
| 58 | France | -0.1499 compared to all private employees | 2018 | down 1,176.7% | volatile |
| 59 | Armenia | -0.1541 compared to all private employees | 2021 | down 204.6% | volatile |
| 60 | Moldova | -0.3369 compared to all private employees | 2012 | down 22.4% | falling |