Italy vs South Korea

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

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)

South Korea's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 13.7% higher than Italy's.

South Korea

Average wage (2025)

$61,259

1-year change: +0.6%
5-year change: +3.1%

Overall price level (2024)

60.1 (United States = 100)

South Korea has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 13.7% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years South Korea shows the stronger change (+3.1% against +1.8%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Italy, at 64.1 against 60.1 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +4.0 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)

ItalySouth Korea

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Italy	South Korea
Latest wage	$53,864	$61,259
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.2%	+0.6%
5-year change	+1.8%	+3.1%
10-year change	−3.9%	+18.3%
Historical peak	$57,790	$61,259
Peak year	2010	2025
Change from peak	−6.8%	0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

South Korea records the higher figure: $61,259 against $53,864, a gap of 13.7%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

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

Italy had the stronger latest year (+1.2% against +0.6%).

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 South Korea: +3.1% against +1.8%.

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: −3.9% for Italy against +18.3% for South Korea. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

South Korea is at its historical peak in the latest year, while Italy sits 6.8% from its high of 2010. 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	Italy	South Korea	Difference (ITA − KOR)	ITA vs U.S.	KOR vs U.S.
Overall	64.1	60.1	+4.0	−35.9	−39.9
Food	86.7	136	−49.3	−13.3	+36.0
Clothing	95.3	103	−7.7	−4.7	+3.0
Housing	50.8	38	+12.8	−49.2	−62.0
Health	52.8	37	+15.8	−47.2	−63.0
Transport	99.9	73.8	+26.1	−0.1	−26.2
Recreation	74.4	71.6	+2.8	−25.6	−28.4
Restaurants & Accommodation	89.4	82.4	+7.0	−10.6	−17.6

Overall
Italy64.1
South Korea60.1
Difference+4.0
ITA vs U.S.−35.9
KOR vs U.S.−39.9
Food
Italy86.7
South Korea136
Difference−49.3
ITA vs U.S.−13.3
KOR vs U.S.+36.0
Clothing
Italy95.3
South Korea103
Difference−7.7
ITA vs U.S.−4.7
KOR vs U.S.+3.0
Housing
Italy50.8
South Korea38
Difference+12.8
ITA vs U.S.−49.2
KOR vs U.S.−62.0
Health
Italy52.8
South Korea37
Difference+15.8
ITA vs U.S.−47.2
KOR vs U.S.−63.0
Transport
Italy99.9
South Korea73.8
Difference+26.1
ITA vs U.S.−0.1
KOR vs U.S.−26.2
Recreation
Italy74.4
South Korea71.6
Difference+2.8
ITA vs U.S.−25.6
KOR vs U.S.−28.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
Italy89.4
South Korea82.4
Difference+7.0
ITA vs U.S.−10.6
KOR vs U.S.−17.6

Italy and South Korea in Detail

Current Wage Position

Italy reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $53,864 for 2025, and South Korea $61,259 for 2025. That puts South Korea ahead by 13.7%.

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 Italy changed by +1.2% and South Korea by +0.6%. 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, South Korea records the larger change at +3.1%, against +1.8% for Italy. 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 −3.9% for Italy and +18.3% for South Korea. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Italy reached its highest recorded value of $57,790 in 2010, and the latest figure sits 6.8% from that high.

South Korea peaked at $61,259 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 64.1 in Italy and 60.1 in South Korea — +4.0 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Food (−49.3) and Transport (+26.1).

Recreation is where they are nearest, at 74.4 and 71.6.

Across the categories with data, Italy 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.