Greece vs Japan

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

Greece

Average wage (2025)

$32,412

1-year change: −0.3%
5-year change: −0.3%

Overall price level (2024)

54.7 (United States = 100)

Japan's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 54.8% higher than Greece's.

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 54.8% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Greece shows the stronger change (−0.3% against −2.2%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Japan, at 59.2 against 54.7 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +4.5 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)

GreeceJapan

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Greece	Japan
Latest wage	$32,412	$50,183
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	−0.3%	−0.5%
5-year change	−0.3%	−2.2%
10-year change	−6.0%	−1.6%
Historical peak	$44,174	$52,662
Peak year	2009	1997
Change from peak	−26.6%	−4.7%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Japan records the higher figure: $50,183 against $32,412, a gap of 54.8%. 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

The latest year moved both by a similar amount: −0.3% in Greece and −0.5% in Japan.

Both series declined in that year, so the distance between them changed very little — the movement was shared rather than one pulling away from the other.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Greece: −0.3% against −2.2%.

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 down: −6.0% for Greece and −1.6% for Japan. Real average wages have lost ground in both over the long horizon.

Neither is at its peak: Greece is 26.6% from its 2009 high and Japan 4.7% from its 1997 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

The long view and the recent one point differently here — the lower-paid of the two has been closing ground over the five-year window, so the current gap understates how the two have been moving relative to each other.

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	Greece	Japan	Difference (GRC − JPN)	GRC vs U.S.	JPN vs U.S.
Overall	54.7	59.2	−4.5	−45.3	−40.8
Food	91.1	112	−20.9	−8.9	+12.0
Clothing	80.9	71	+9.9	−19.1	−29.0
Housing	40.7	48.5	−7.8	−59.3	−51.5
Health	38.1	33.9	+4.2	−61.9	−66.1
Transport	93.4	84.4	+9.0	−6.6	−15.6
Recreation	66.5	78.4	−11.9	−33.5	−21.6
Restaurants & Accommodation	71.3	72.6	−1.3	−28.7	−27.4

Overall
Greece54.7
Japan59.2
Difference−4.5
GRC vs U.S.−45.3
JPN vs U.S.−40.8
Food
Greece91.1
Japan112
Difference−20.9
GRC vs U.S.−8.9
JPN vs U.S.+12.0
Clothing
Greece80.9
Japan71
Difference+9.9
GRC vs U.S.−19.1
JPN vs U.S.−29.0
Housing
Greece40.7
Japan48.5
Difference−7.8
GRC vs U.S.−59.3
JPN vs U.S.−51.5
Health
Greece38.1
Japan33.9
Difference+4.2
GRC vs U.S.−61.9
JPN vs U.S.−66.1
Transport
Greece93.4
Japan84.4
Difference+9.0
GRC vs U.S.−6.6
JPN vs U.S.−15.6
Recreation
Greece66.5
Japan78.4
Difference−11.9
GRC vs U.S.−33.5
JPN vs U.S.−21.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
Greece71.3
Japan72.6
Difference−1.3
GRC vs U.S.−28.7
JPN vs U.S.−27.4

Greece and Japan in Detail

Current Wage Position

Greece reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $32,412 for 2025, and Japan $50,183 for 2025. That puts Japan ahead by 54.8%.

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 Greece changed by −0.3% 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, Greece records the larger change at −0.3%, against −2.2% for Japan. 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 −6.0% for Greece 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.

Greece reached its highest recorded value of $44,174 in 2009, and the latest figure sits 26.6% from that high.

Japan peaked at $52,662 in 1997, leaving its latest value 4.7% 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 54.7 in Greece and 59.2 in Japan — −4.5 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Food (−20.9) and Recreation (−11.9).

Restaurants & Accommodation is where they are nearest, at 71.3 and 72.6.

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.