Colombia vs Japan

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

Country A

Country B

Colombia wage data: 2024 · Japan wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Colombia

Average wage (2024)

$30,133

1-year change: +1.9%
5-year change: −3.9%

Overall price level (2024)

32.6 (United States = 100)

Japan's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 66.5% higher than Colombia's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Japan

Average wage (2025)

$50,183

1-year change: −0.5%
5-year change: −2.2%

Overall price level (2024)

59.2 (United States = 100)

Japan has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 66.5% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Japan shows the stronger change (−2.2% against −3.9%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Japan, at 59.2 against 32.6 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +26.6 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2024 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)

ColombiaJapan

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Colombia	Japan
Latest wage	$30,133	$50,183
Latest year	2024	2025
1-year change	+1.9%	−0.5%
5-year change	−3.9%	−2.2%
10-year change	+2.4%	−1.6%
Historical peak	$35,659	$52,662
Peak year	2020	1997
Change from peak	−15.5%	−4.7%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Japan records the higher figure: $50,183 against $30,133, a gap of 66.5%. A difference of that size is one of the wider ones in this dataset, and it holds after the PPP adjustment has already removed price level differences between the two.

The two are measured in different years — Colombia in 2024, Japan 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

Colombia had the stronger latest year (+1.9% against −0.5%).

Japan was the one that fell, while Colombia rose, so the latest year moved them apart rather than together.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Japan: −2.2% against −3.9%.

This is where the two separate: Colombia's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Japan's does not. Short-term and medium-term signals agree for one and conflict for the other.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: +2.4% for Colombia against −1.6% for Japan. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

Neither is at its peak: Colombia is 15.5% from its 2020 high and Japan 4.7% from its 1997 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

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	Colombia	Japan	Difference (COL − JPN)	COL vs U.S.	JPN vs U.S.
Overall	32.6	59.2	−26.6	−67.4	−40.8
Food	65.4	112	−46.6	−34.6	+12.0
Clothing	60.4	71	−10.6	−39.6	−29.0
Housing	26.6	48.5	−21.9	−73.4	−51.5
Health	18.6	33.9	−15.3	−81.4	−66.1
Transport	49.8	84.4	−34.6	−50.2	−15.6
Recreation	47.8	78.4	−30.6	−52.2	−21.6
Restaurants & Accommodation	40.5	72.6	−32.1	−59.5	−27.4

Overall
Colombia32.6
Japan59.2
Difference−26.6
COL vs U.S.−67.4
JPN vs U.S.−40.8
Food
Colombia65.4
Japan112
Difference−46.6
COL vs U.S.−34.6
JPN vs U.S.+12.0
Clothing
Colombia60.4
Japan71
Difference−10.6
COL vs U.S.−39.6
JPN vs U.S.−29.0
Housing
Colombia26.6
Japan48.5
Difference−21.9
COL vs U.S.−73.4
JPN vs U.S.−51.5
Health
Colombia18.6
Japan33.9
Difference−15.3
COL vs U.S.−81.4
JPN vs U.S.−66.1
Transport
Colombia49.8
Japan84.4
Difference−34.6
COL vs U.S.−50.2
JPN vs U.S.−15.6
Recreation
Colombia47.8
Japan78.4
Difference−30.6
COL vs U.S.−52.2
JPN vs U.S.−21.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
Colombia40.5
Japan72.6
Difference−32.1
COL vs U.S.−59.5
JPN vs U.S.−27.4

Colombia and Japan in Detail

Current Wage Position

Colombia reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $30,133 for 2024, and Japan $50,183 for 2025. That puts Japan ahead by 66.5%.

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 Colombia changed by +1.9% and Japan by −0.5%. 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, Japan records the larger change at −2.2%, against −3.9% for Colombia. 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 +2.4% for Colombia and −1.6% for Japan. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Colombia reached its highest recorded value of $35,659 in 2020, and the latest figure sits 15.5% from that high.

Japan peaked at $52,662 in 1997, leaving its latest value 4.7% 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 32.6 in Colombia and 59.2 in Japan — −26.6 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Food (−46.6) and Transport (−34.6).

Clothing is where they are nearest, at 60.4 and 71.

Across the categories with data, Japan 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.