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Japan vs Chile

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

Japan wage data: 2025 · Chile wage data: 2023 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Japan flagJapan

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's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 23.5% higher than Chile's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Chile flagChile

Average wage (2023)

$40,626

1-year change
+1.3%
5-year change
+6.1%

Overall price level (2024)

42.9 (United States = 100)

Japan has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 23.5% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Chile shows the stronger change (+6.1% against −2.2%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Japan, at 59.2 against 42.9 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +16.3 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2025 and 2023) 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)

JapanChile
$35,000$40,000$45,000$50,000$55,0002013201520172019202120232025

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

MetricJapanChile
Latest wage$50,183$40,626
Latest year20252023
1-year change−0.5%+1.3%
5-year change−2.2%+6.1%
10-year change−1.6%−6.1%
Historical peak$52,662$45,670
Peak year19972016
Change from peak−4.7%−11.1%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Japan records the higher figure: $50,183 against $40,626, a gap of 23.5%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

The two are measured in different years — Japan in 2025, Chile in 2023 — 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

Chile had the stronger latest year (+1.3% against −0.5%).

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

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Chile: +6.1% 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: −1.6% for Japan and −6.1% for Chile. Real average wages have lost ground in both over the long horizon.

Neither is at its peak: Japan is 4.7% from its 1997 high and Chile 11.1% from its 2016 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.

CategoryJapanChileDifference (JPN − CHL)JPN vs U.S.CHL vs U.S.
Overall59.242.9+16.3−40.8−57.1
Food11284.8+27.2+12.0−15.2
Clothing7177.5−6.5−29.0−22.5
Housing48.529.6+18.9−51.5−70.4
Health33.925.8+8.1−66.1−74.2
Transport84.466.8+17.6−15.6−33.2
Recreation78.460.7+17.7−21.6−39.3
Restaurants & Accommodation72.661.1+11.5−27.4−38.9

  • Overall

    Japan59.2
    Chile42.9
    Difference+16.3
    JPN vs U.S.−40.8
    CHL vs U.S.−57.1

  • Food

    Japan112
    Chile84.8
    Difference+27.2
    JPN vs U.S.+12.0
    CHL vs U.S.−15.2

  • Clothing

    Japan71
    Chile77.5
    Difference−6.5
    JPN vs U.S.−29.0
    CHL vs U.S.−22.5

  • Housing

    Japan48.5
    Chile29.6
    Difference+18.9
    JPN vs U.S.−51.5
    CHL vs U.S.−70.4

  • Health

    Japan33.9
    Chile25.8
    Difference+8.1
    JPN vs U.S.−66.1
    CHL vs U.S.−74.2

  • Transport

    Japan84.4
    Chile66.8
    Difference+17.6
    JPN vs U.S.−15.6
    CHL vs U.S.−33.2

  • Recreation

    Japan78.4
    Chile60.7
    Difference+17.7
    JPN vs U.S.−21.6
    CHL vs U.S.−39.3

  • Restaurants & Accommodation

    Japan72.6
    Chile61.1
    Difference+11.5
    JPN vs U.S.−27.4
    CHL vs U.S.−38.9

Japan and Chile in Detail

Current Wage Position

Japan reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $50,183 for 2025, and Chile $40,626 for 2023. That puts Japan ahead by 23.5%.

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 Japan changed by −0.5% and Chile by +1.3%. 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, Chile records the larger change at +6.1%, 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 −1.6% for Japan and −6.1% for Chile. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Japan reached its highest recorded value of $52,662 in 1997, and the latest figure sits 4.7% from that high.

Chile peaked at $45,670 in 2016, leaving its latest value 11.1% 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 59.2 in Japan and 42.9 in Chile — +16.3 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Food (+27.2) and Housing (+18.9).

Clothing is where they are nearest, at 71 and 77.5.

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.

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Latest data check

May 15, 2025