Spain 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

Spain

Average wage (2025)

$57,779

1-year change: +1.2%
5-year change: +4.3%

Overall price level (2024)

59.4 (United States = 100)

Spain's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 15.1% higher than Japan'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)

Spain has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 15.1% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Spain shows the stronger change (+4.3% against −2.2%). Their overall price levels sit close together at 59.4 and 59.2 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)

SpainJapan

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Spain	Japan
Latest wage	$57,779	$50,183
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.2%	−0.5%
5-year change	+4.3%	−2.2%
10-year change	+2.6%	−1.6%
Historical peak	$58,456	$52,662
Peak year	2009	1997
Change from peak	−1.2%	−4.7%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Spain records the higher figure: $57,779 against $50,183, a gap of 15.1%. 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

Spain had the stronger latest year (+1.2% against −0.5%).

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

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Spain: +4.3% 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

The ten-year direction splits between them: +2.6% for Spain against −1.6% for Japan. 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: Spain is 1.2% from its 2009 high and Japan 4.7% from its 1997 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	Spain	Japan	Difference (ESP − JPN)	ESP vs U.S.	JPN vs U.S.
Overall	59.4	59.2	+0.2	−40.6	−40.8
Food	82	112	−30.0	−18.0	+12.0
Clothing	80.6	71	+9.6	−19.4	−29.0
Housing	54.5	48.5	+6.0	−45.5	−51.5
Health	42.7	33.9	+8.8	−57.3	−66.1
Transport	92.1	84.4	+7.7	−7.9	−15.6
Recreation	73.6	78.4	−4.8	−26.4	−21.6
Restaurants & Accommodation	69.2	72.6	−3.4	−30.8	−27.4

Overall
Spain59.4
Japan59.2
Difference+0.2
ESP vs U.S.−40.6
JPN vs U.S.−40.8
Food
Spain82
Japan112
Difference−30.0
ESP vs U.S.−18.0
JPN vs U.S.+12.0
Clothing
Spain80.6
Japan71
Difference+9.6
ESP vs U.S.−19.4
JPN vs U.S.−29.0
Housing
Spain54.5
Japan48.5
Difference+6.0
ESP vs U.S.−45.5
JPN vs U.S.−51.5
Health
Spain42.7
Japan33.9
Difference+8.8
ESP vs U.S.−57.3
JPN vs U.S.−66.1
Transport
Spain92.1
Japan84.4
Difference+7.7
ESP vs U.S.−7.9
JPN vs U.S.−15.6
Recreation
Spain73.6
Japan78.4
Difference−4.8
ESP vs U.S.−26.4
JPN vs U.S.−21.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
Spain69.2
Japan72.6
Difference−3.4
ESP vs U.S.−30.8
JPN vs U.S.−27.4

Spain and Japan in Detail

Current Wage Position

Spain reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $57,779 for 2025, and Japan $50,183 for 2025. That puts Spain ahead by 15.1%.

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 Spain changed by +1.2% 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, Spain records the larger change at +4.3%, 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 +2.6% for Spain 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.

Spain reached its highest recorded value of $58,456 in 2009, and the latest figure sits 1.2% from that high.

Japan peaked at $52,662 in 1997, leaving its latest value 4.7% 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 59.4 in Spain and 59.2 in Japan — effectively level.

The categories that separate them most are Food (−30.0) and Clothing (+9.6).

Restaurants & Accommodation is where they are nearest, at 69.2 and 72.6.

Across the categories with data, Spain 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.