Sweden vs Italy

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

Sweden

Average wage (2025)

$61,443

1-year change: +0.9%
5-year change: −1.7%

Overall price level (2024)

81.5 (United States = 100)

Sweden's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 14.1% higher than Italy's.

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)

Sweden has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 14.1% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Italy shows the stronger change (+1.8% against −1.7%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Sweden, at 81.5 against 64.1 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +17.4 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)

SwedenItaly

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Sweden	Italy
Latest wage	$61,443	$53,864
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+0.9%	+1.2%
5-year change	−1.7%	+1.8%
10-year change	+3.2%	−3.9%
Historical peak	$63,923	$57,790
Peak year	2021	2010
Change from peak	−3.9%	−6.8%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Sweden records the higher figure: $61,443 against $53,864, a gap of 14.1%. 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

Italy had the stronger latest year (+1.2% against +0.9%).

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 Italy: +1.8% against −1.7%.

This is where the two separate: Sweden's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Italy's does not. Short-term and medium-term signals agree for one and conflict for the other.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: +3.2% for Sweden against −3.9% for Italy. 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: Sweden is 3.9% from its 2021 high and Italy 6.8% from its 2010 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	Sweden	Italy	Difference (SWE − ITA)	SWE vs U.S.	ITA vs U.S.
Overall	81.5	64.1	+17.4	−18.5	−35.9
Food	90.8	86.7	+4.1	−9.2	−13.3
Clothing	109	95.3	+13.7	+9.0	−4.7
Housing	64.2	50.8	+13.4	−35.8	−49.2
Health	71.4	52.8	+18.6	−28.6	−47.2
Transport	117	99.9	+17.1	+17.0	−0.1
Recreation	98.4	74.4	+24.0	−1.6	−25.6
Restaurants & Accommodation	97	89.4	+7.6	−3.0	−10.6

Overall
Sweden81.5
Italy64.1
Difference+17.4
SWE vs U.S.−18.5
ITA vs U.S.−35.9
Food
Sweden90.8
Italy86.7
Difference+4.1
SWE vs U.S.−9.2
ITA vs U.S.−13.3
Clothing
Sweden109
Italy95.3
Difference+13.7
SWE vs U.S.+9.0
ITA vs U.S.−4.7
Housing
Sweden64.2
Italy50.8
Difference+13.4
SWE vs U.S.−35.8
ITA vs U.S.−49.2
Health
Sweden71.4
Italy52.8
Difference+18.6
SWE vs U.S.−28.6
ITA vs U.S.−47.2
Transport
Sweden117
Italy99.9
Difference+17.1
SWE vs U.S.+17.0
ITA vs U.S.−0.1
Recreation
Sweden98.4
Italy74.4
Difference+24.0
SWE vs U.S.−1.6
ITA vs U.S.−25.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
Sweden97
Italy89.4
Difference+7.6
SWE vs U.S.−3.0
ITA vs U.S.−10.6

Sweden and Italy in Detail

Current Wage Position

Sweden reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $61,443 for 2025, and Italy $53,864 for 2025. That puts Sweden ahead by 14.1%.

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 Sweden changed by +0.9% and Italy by +1.2%. 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, Italy records the larger change at +1.8%, against −1.7% for Sweden. 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 +3.2% for Sweden and −3.9% for Italy. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Sweden reached its highest recorded value of $63,923 in 2021, and the latest figure sits 3.9% from that high.

Italy peaked at $57,790 in 2010, leaving its latest value 6.8% 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 81.5 in Sweden and 64.1 in Italy — +17.4 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Recreation (+24.0) and Health (+18.6).

Food is where they are nearest, at 90.8 and 86.7.

Across the categories with data, Sweden 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.