Public sector wage premium (compared to formal wage employees) by country
Countries reporting
54
Highest
0.7077 compared to formal wage employees
Zambia
Lowest
-0.3519 compared to formal wage employees
Moldova
Median
0.1132 compared to formal wage employees
Years covered
22
2000–2021
Data points
658
What the numbers show
Public sector wage premium (compared to formal wage employees) is currently reported for 54 countries. The highest value is 0.7077 compared to formal wage employees in Zambia; the lowest is -0.3519 compared to formal wage employees in Moldova.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.1132 compared to formal wage employees, and the mean is 0.1158 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 28 fell. The largest increase was in Estonia (up 11,854.5%), and the largest decrease in France (down 850.2%).
Public sector wage premium: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia | 0.7077 compared to formal wage employees | 2014 | up 280.1% | volatile |
| 2 | Colombia | 0.6407 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | up 72.0% | rising |
| 3 | Ecuador | 0.4105 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 13.4% | volatile |
| 4 | Namibia | 0.3535 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 5 | Turkey | 0.3493 compared to formal wage employees | 2010 | down 10.9% | rising |
| 6 | El Salvador | 0.3356 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 22.4% | rising |
| 7 | Luxembourg | 0.3342 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 196.9% | rising |
| 8 | Costa Rica | 0.3315 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 23.5% | volatile |
| 9 | Panama | 0.2791 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 343.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Tanzania | 0.2601 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | down 24.7% | falling |
| 11 | Sri Lanka | 0.2278 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | down 43.6% | falling |
| 12 | Cyprus | 0.2236 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 13 | Spain | 0.2161 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 16.1% | rising |
| 14 | Pakistan | 0.1973 compared to formal wage employees | 2020 | down 38.9% | rising |
| 15 | Brazil | 0.1971 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 187.1% | volatile |
| 16 | Uruguay | 0.1806 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 10.3% | rising |
| 17 | Honduras | 0.1686 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | up 177.4% | volatile |
| 18 | Chile | 0.1514 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 30.9% | rising |
| 19 | Australia | 0.1437 compared to formal wage employees | 2015 | up 165.0% | rising |
| 20 | Dominican Republic | 0.1424 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 181.6% | volatile |
| 21 | Guatemala | 0.1399 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | up 487.5% | volatile |
| 22 | Estonia | 0.1379 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 11,854.5% | volatile |
| 23 | Greece | 0.1327 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 24 | Lithuania | 0.1307 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 3.6% | volatile |
| 25 | Ireland | 0.1213 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 20.9% | flat |
| 26 | Ethiopia | 0.1208 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | down 51.4% | volatile |
| 27 | Italy | 0.1161 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 28 | Mexico | 0.1103 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | down 20.7% | rising |
| 29 | Peru | 0.1095 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 168.9% | volatile |
| 30 | Bolivia | 0.0902 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 297.5% | volatile |
| 31 | Bulgaria | 0.0876 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 159.5% | volatile |
| 32 | Romania | 0.0836 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 279.4% | volatile |
| 33 | Latvia | 0.0806 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 47.2% | volatile |
| 34 | Austria | 0.0765 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 54.0% | volatile |
| 35 | Serbia | 0.0619 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 52.6% | falling |
| 36 | Paraguay | 0.0507 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | up 146.2% | volatile |
| 37 | Portugal | 0.0472 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 72.4% | falling |
| 38 | Malta | 0.0415 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 434.2% | volatile |
| 39 | Croatia | 0.0412 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 70.5% | falling |
| 40 | Czechia | 0.0357 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 14.3% | volatile |
| 41 | Poland | 0.0082 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 93.9% | falling |
| 42 | Switzerland | -0.0067 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 91.5% | volatile |
| 43 | Argentina | -0.0204 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | down 51.8% | volatile |
| 44 | Slovakia | -0.0388 compared to formal wage employees | 2017 | down 334.3% | volatile |
| 45 | United Kingdom | -0.0477 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | down 574.1% | volatile |
| 46 | Belgium | -0.0483 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | up 34.0% | volatile |
| 47 | Finland | -0.0629 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 554.6% | volatile |
| 48 | Hungary | -0.093 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 229.5% | volatile |
| 49 | Russia | -0.1077 compared to formal wage employees | 2016 | up 48.4% | rising |
| 50 | Iceland | -0.121 compared to formal wage employees | 2013 | down 44.7% | rising |
| 51 | France | -0.1502 compared to formal wage employees | 2018 | down 850.2% | volatile |
| 52 | Armenia | -0.1755 compared to formal wage employees | 2021 | down 48.2% | rising |
| 53 | South Africa | -0.1974 compared to formal wage employees | 2019 | down 233.7% | volatile |
| 54 | Moldova | -0.3519 compared to formal wage employees | 2012 | down 25.7% | falling |