Belgium vs Norway

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Belgium

Average wage (2025)

$80,009

1-year change: +1.8%
5-year change: +6.0%

Overall price level (2024)

77.5 (United States = 100)

Belgium's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 8.9% higher than Norway's.

Norway

Average wage (2025)

$73,462

1-year change: +1.6%
5-year change: +6.0%

Overall price level (2024)

90 (United States = 100)

Belgium has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 8.9% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Belgium shows the stronger change (+6.0% against +6.0%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Norway, at 90 against 77.5 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +12.5 index points. Both wage figures are for 2025 and the price levels for 2024, so the two economies are read at the same point in each series.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

BelgiumNorway

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Belgium	Norway
Latest wage	$80,009	$73,462
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.8%	+1.6%
5-year change	+6.0%	+6.0%
10-year change	+4.3%	+9.4%
Historical peak	$80,009	$73,462
Peak year	2025	2025
Change from peak	0.0%	0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Belgium records the higher figure: $80,009 against $73,462, a gap of 8.9%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

Both figures are for 2025, so this is a like-for-like comparison of the same year rather than of two different latest points.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

The latest year moved both by a similar amount: +1.8% in Belgium and +1.6% in Norway.

Both moved up in the latest year, which leaves the ordering between them unchanged.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Belgium: +6.0% against +6.0%.

For both economies the latest year points the same way as the five-year change, so the recent movement reads as continuation rather than a turn.

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +4.3% for Belgium and +9.4% for Norway. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Both are at their historical peaks in the latest year, so neither series is currently below a previous high.

The gap has been widening rather than closing over the five-year window: the economy that already reported the higher wage is also the one growing faster.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Belgium	Norway	Difference (BEL − NOR)	BEL vs U.S.	NOR vs U.S.
Overall	77.5	90	−12.5	−22.5	−10.0
Food	89.9	113	−23.1	−10.1	+13.0
Clothing	88.2	105	−16.8	−11.8	+5.0
Housing	74.2	60.4	+13.8	−25.8	−39.6
Health	52.8	80.6	−27.8	−47.2	−19.4
Transport	114	126	−12.0	+14.0	+26.0
Recreation	85.7	119	−33.3	−14.3	+19.0
Restaurants & Accommodation	101	114	−13.0	+1.0	+14.0

Overall
Belgium77.5
Norway90
Difference−12.5
BEL vs U.S.−22.5
NOR vs U.S.−10.0
Food
Belgium89.9
Norway113
Difference−23.1
BEL vs U.S.−10.1
NOR vs U.S.+13.0
Clothing
Belgium88.2
Norway105
Difference−16.8
BEL vs U.S.−11.8
NOR vs U.S.+5.0
Housing
Belgium74.2
Norway60.4
Difference+13.8
BEL vs U.S.−25.8
NOR vs U.S.−39.6
Health
Belgium52.8
Norway80.6
Difference−27.8
BEL vs U.S.−47.2
NOR vs U.S.−19.4
Transport
Belgium114
Norway126
Difference−12.0
BEL vs U.S.+14.0
NOR vs U.S.+26.0
Recreation
Belgium85.7
Norway119
Difference−33.3
BEL vs U.S.−14.3
NOR vs U.S.+19.0
Restaurants & Accommodation
Belgium101
Norway114
Difference−13.0
BEL vs U.S.+1.0
NOR vs U.S.+14.0

Belgium and Norway in Detail

Current Wage Position

Belgium reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $80,009 for 2025, and Norway $73,462 for 2025. That puts Belgium ahead by 8.9%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Belgium changed by +1.8% and Norway by +1.6%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, Belgium records the larger change at +6.0%, against +6.0% for Norway. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are +4.3% for Belgium and +9.4% for Norway. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Belgium reached its highest recorded value of $80,009 in 2025, and the latest figure sits 0.0% from that high.

Norway peaked at $73,462 in 2025, leaving its latest value 0.0% away from that point.

Both long-term series move the same way, so the difference between these two economies is one of degree over ten years rather than of direction.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 77.5 in Belgium and 90 in Norway — −12.5 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Recreation (−33.3) and Health (−27.8).

Transport is where they are nearest, at 114 and 126.

Across the categories with data, Norway is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.