Chile vs Portugal

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

Country A

Country B

Chile wage data: 2023 · Portugal wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Chile

Average wage (2023)

$40,626

1-year change: +1.3%
5-year change: +6.1%

Overall price level (2024)

42.9 (United States = 100)

Portugal's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 10.6% higher than Chile's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Portugal

Average wage (2025)

$44,937

1-year change: +1.8%
5-year change: +13.9%

Overall price level (2024)

55.7 (United States = 100)

Portugal has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 10.6% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Portugal shows the stronger change (+13.9% against +6.1%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Portugal, at 55.7 against 42.9 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +12.8 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2023 and 2025) and the price levels from 2024, so each economy is shown at its own latest available point.

Wage History

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

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

ChilePortugal

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Chile	Portugal
Latest wage	$40,626	$44,937
Latest year	2023	2025
1-year change	+1.3%	+1.8%
5-year change	+6.1%	+13.9%
10-year change	−6.1%	+23.1%
Historical peak	$45,670	$44,937
Peak year	2016	2025
Change from peak	−11.1%	0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Portugal records the higher figure: $44,937 against $40,626, a gap of 10.6%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

The two are measured in different years — Chile in 2023, Portugal in 2025 — so this compares each economy's latest available point rather than a single common year. Where a strict same-year ranking is needed, the all-countries table uses the latest year for which every economy reports.

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

Portugal had the stronger latest year (+1.8% against +1.3%).

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 Portugal: +13.9% against +6.1%.

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

The ten-year direction splits between them: −6.1% for Chile against +23.1% for Portugal. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

Portugal is at its historical peak in the latest year, while Chile sits 11.1% from its high of 2016. One has recovered its previous ground and the other has not.

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	Chile	Portugal	Difference (CHL − PRT)	CHL vs U.S.	PRT vs U.S.
Overall	42.9	55.7	−12.8	−57.1	−44.3
Food	84.8	87.6	−2.8	−15.2	−12.4
Clothing	77.5	82.4	−4.9	−22.5	−17.6
Housing	29.6	44.7	−15.1	−70.4	−55.3
Health	25.8	39.5	−13.7	−74.2	−60.5
Transport	66.8	92	−25.2	−33.2	−8.0
Recreation	60.7	66.5	−5.8	−39.3	−33.5
Restaurants & Accommodation	61.1	61.7	−0.6	−38.9	−38.3

Overall
Chile42.9
Portugal55.7
Difference−12.8
CHL vs U.S.−57.1
PRT vs U.S.−44.3
Food
Chile84.8
Portugal87.6
Difference−2.8
CHL vs U.S.−15.2
PRT vs U.S.−12.4
Clothing
Chile77.5
Portugal82.4
Difference−4.9
CHL vs U.S.−22.5
PRT vs U.S.−17.6
Housing
Chile29.6
Portugal44.7
Difference−15.1
CHL vs U.S.−70.4
PRT vs U.S.−55.3
Health
Chile25.8
Portugal39.5
Difference−13.7
CHL vs U.S.−74.2
PRT vs U.S.−60.5
Transport
Chile66.8
Portugal92
Difference−25.2
CHL vs U.S.−33.2
PRT vs U.S.−8.0
Recreation
Chile60.7
Portugal66.5
Difference−5.8
CHL vs U.S.−39.3
PRT vs U.S.−33.5
Restaurants & Accommodation
Chile61.1
Portugal61.7
Difference−0.6
CHL vs U.S.−38.9
PRT vs U.S.−38.3

Chile and Portugal in Detail

Current Wage Position

Chile reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $40,626 for 2023, and Portugal $44,937 for 2025. That puts Portugal ahead by 10.6%.

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 Chile changed by +1.3% and Portugal by +1.8%. 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, Portugal records the larger change at +13.9%, against +6.1% for Chile. 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 −6.1% for Chile and +23.1% for Portugal. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Chile reached its highest recorded value of $45,670 in 2016, and the latest figure sits 11.1% from that high.

Portugal peaked at $44,937 in 2025, leaving its latest value 0.0% away from that point.

Over the long run the two point in opposite directions. That is the clearest structural difference between these series, and it matters more for reading them than any single year's change does.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 42.9 in Chile and 55.7 in Portugal — −12.8 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Transport (−25.2) and Housing (−15.1).

Restaurants & Accommodation is where they are nearest, at 61.1 and 61.7.

Across the categories with data, Portugal 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.