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Iceland vs Belgium

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

Wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Iceland flagIceland

Average wage (2025)

$100,605

1-year change
+1.8%
5-year change
+21.6%

Overall price level (2024)

112 (United States = 100)

Iceland's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 25.7% higher than Belgium's.

Belgium flagBelgium

Average wage (2025)

$80,009

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

Overall price level (2024)

77.5 (United States = 100)

Iceland has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 25.7% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Iceland shows the stronger change (+21.6% against +6.0%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Iceland, at 112 against 77.5 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +34.5 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)

IcelandBelgium
$70,000$80,000$90,000$100,000$110,000201520172019202120232025

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

MetricIcelandBelgium
Latest wage$100,605$80,009
Latest year20252025
1-year change+1.8%+1.8%
5-year change+21.6%+6.0%
10-year change+34.6%+4.3%
Historical peak$100,605$80,009
Peak year20252025
Change from peak0.0%0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Iceland records the higher figure: $100,605 against $80,009, a gap of 25.7%. 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: +1.8% in Iceland and +1.8% in Belgium.

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 Iceland: +21.6% 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 — +34.6% for Iceland and +4.3% for Belgium. 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.

CategoryIcelandBelgiumDifference (ISL − BEL)ISL vs U.S.BEL vs U.S.
Overall11277.5+34.5+12.0−22.5
Food12789.9+37.1+27.0−10.1
Clothing12988.2+40.8+29.0−11.8
Housing9174.2+16.8−9.0−25.8
Health99.952.8+47.1−0.1−47.2
Transport144114+30.0+44.0+14.0
Recreation12885.7+42.3+28.0−14.3
Restaurants & Accommodation134101+33.0+34.0+1.0

  • Overall

    Iceland112
    Belgium77.5
    Difference+34.5
    ISL vs U.S.+12.0
    BEL vs U.S.−22.5

  • Food

    Iceland127
    Belgium89.9
    Difference+37.1
    ISL vs U.S.+27.0
    BEL vs U.S.−10.1

  • Clothing

    Iceland129
    Belgium88.2
    Difference+40.8
    ISL vs U.S.+29.0
    BEL vs U.S.−11.8

  • Housing

    Iceland91
    Belgium74.2
    Difference+16.8
    ISL vs U.S.−9.0
    BEL vs U.S.−25.8

  • Health

    Iceland99.9
    Belgium52.8
    Difference+47.1
    ISL vs U.S.−0.1
    BEL vs U.S.−47.2

  • Transport

    Iceland144
    Belgium114
    Difference+30.0
    ISL vs U.S.+44.0
    BEL vs U.S.+14.0

  • Recreation

    Iceland128
    Belgium85.7
    Difference+42.3
    ISL vs U.S.+28.0
    BEL vs U.S.−14.3

  • Restaurants & Accommodation

    Iceland134
    Belgium101
    Difference+33.0
    ISL vs U.S.+34.0
    BEL vs U.S.+1.0

Iceland and Belgium in Detail

Current Wage Position

Iceland reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $100,605 for 2025, and Belgium $80,009 for 2025. That puts Iceland ahead by 25.7%.

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 Iceland changed by +1.8% and Belgium 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, Iceland records the larger change at +21.6%, against +6.0% for Belgium. 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 +34.6% for Iceland and +4.3% for Belgium. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Iceland reached its highest recorded value of $100,605 in 2025, and the latest figure sits 0.0% from that high.

Belgium peaked at $80,009 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 112 in Iceland and 77.5 in Belgium — +34.5 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (+47.1) and Recreation (+42.3).

Housing is where they are nearest, at 91 and 74.2.

Across the categories with data, Iceland 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.

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Latest data check

May 15, 2025