Estonia vs Italy

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

Estonia

Average wage (2025)

$41,019

1-year change: +1.4%
5-year change: +1.6%

Overall price level (2024)

63.6 (United States = 100)

Italy's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 31.3% higher than Estonia's.

Italy

Average wage (2025)

$53,864

1-year change: +1.2%
5-year change: +1.8%

Overall price level (2024)

64.1 (United States = 100)

Italy has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 31.3% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Italy shows the stronger change (+1.8% against +1.6%). Their overall price levels sit close together at 63.6 and 64.1 against the United States benchmark of 100, so consumer prices are broadly comparable between them. 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)

EstoniaItaly

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Estonia	Italy
Latest wage	$41,019	$53,864
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.4%	+1.2%
5-year change	+1.6%	+1.8%
10-year change	+27.6%	−3.9%
Historical peak	$42,741	$57,790
Peak year	2021	2010
Change from peak	−4.0%	−6.8%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Italy records the higher figure: $53,864 against $41,019, a gap of 31.3%. 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.

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

Estonia had the stronger latest year (+1.4% against +1.2%).

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 Italy: +1.8% against +1.6%.

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: +27.6% for Estonia against −3.9% for Italy. 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: Estonia is 4.0% from its 2021 high and Italy 6.8% from its 2010 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	Estonia	Italy	Difference (EST − ITA)	EST vs U.S.	ITA vs U.S.
Overall	63.6	64.1	−0.5	−36.4	−35.9
Food	91.2	86.7	+4.5	−8.8	−13.3
Clothing	105	95.3	+9.7	+5.0	−4.7
Housing	54.9	50.8	+4.1	−45.1	−49.2
Health	41.4	52.8	−11.4	−58.6	−47.2
Transport	98.5	99.9	−1.4	−1.5	−0.1
Recreation	83.8	74.4	+9.4	−16.2	−25.6
Restaurants & Accommodation	80.7	89.4	−8.7	−19.3	−10.6

Overall
Estonia63.6
Italy64.1
Difference−0.5
EST vs U.S.−36.4
ITA vs U.S.−35.9
Food
Estonia91.2
Italy86.7
Difference+4.5
EST vs U.S.−8.8
ITA vs U.S.−13.3
Clothing
Estonia105
Italy95.3
Difference+9.7
EST vs U.S.+5.0
ITA vs U.S.−4.7
Housing
Estonia54.9
Italy50.8
Difference+4.1
EST vs U.S.−45.1
ITA vs U.S.−49.2
Health
Estonia41.4
Italy52.8
Difference−11.4
EST vs U.S.−58.6
ITA vs U.S.−47.2
Transport
Estonia98.5
Italy99.9
Difference−1.4
EST vs U.S.−1.5
ITA vs U.S.−0.1
Recreation
Estonia83.8
Italy74.4
Difference+9.4
EST vs U.S.−16.2
ITA vs U.S.−25.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
Estonia80.7
Italy89.4
Difference−8.7
EST vs U.S.−19.3
ITA vs U.S.−10.6

Estonia and Italy in Detail

Current Wage Position

Estonia reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $41,019 for 2025, and Italy $53,864 for 2025. That puts Italy ahead by 31.3%.

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 Estonia changed by +1.4% and Italy by +1.2%. 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, Italy records the larger change at +1.8%, against +1.6% for Estonia. 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 +27.6% for Estonia and −3.9% for Italy. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Estonia reached its highest recorded value of $42,741 in 2021, and the latest figure sits 4.0% from that high.

Italy peaked at $57,790 in 2010, leaving its latest value 6.8% 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 63.6 in Estonia and 64.1 in Italy — effectively level.

The categories that separate them most are Health (−11.4) and Clothing (+9.7).

Transport is where they are nearest, at 98.5 and 99.9.

Across the categories with data, Estonia 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.