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Sweden vs South Korea

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

Sweden flagSweden

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 0.3% higher than South Korea's.

South Korea flagSouth 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)

Sweden has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 0.3% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years South Korea shows the stronger change (+3.1% against −1.7%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Sweden, at 81.5 against 60.1 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +21.4 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)

SwedenSouth Korea
$50,000$55,000$60,000$65,000$70,000201520172019202120232025

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

MetricSwedenSouth Korea
Latest wage$61,443$61,259
Latest year20252025
1-year change+0.9%+0.6%
5-year change−1.7%+3.1%
10-year change+3.2%+18.3%
Historical peak$63,923$61,259
Peak year20212025
Change from peak−3.9%0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Sweden and South Korea sit close together. Sweden reports $61,443 for 2025 and South Korea $61,259 for 2025 — a difference of 0.3%, small enough that the two read as comparable rather than ranked.

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

Sweden had the stronger latest year (+0.9% 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 −1.7%.

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

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +3.2% for Sweden and +18.3% for South Korea. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

South Korea is at its historical peak in the latest year, while Sweden sits 3.9% from its high of 2021. One has recovered its previous ground and the other has not.

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.

CategorySwedenSouth KoreaDifference (SWE − KOR)SWE vs U.S.KOR vs U.S.
Overall81.560.1+21.4−18.5−39.9
Food90.8136−45.2−9.2+36.0
Clothing109103+6.0+9.0+3.0
Housing64.238+26.2−35.8−62.0
Health71.437+34.4−28.6−63.0
Transport11773.8+43.2+17.0−26.2
Recreation98.471.6+26.8−1.6−28.4
Restaurants & Accommodation9782.4+14.6−3.0−17.6

  • Overall

    Sweden81.5
    South Korea60.1
    Difference+21.4
    SWE vs U.S.−18.5
    KOR vs U.S.−39.9

  • Food

    Sweden90.8
    South Korea136
    Difference−45.2
    SWE vs U.S.−9.2
    KOR vs U.S.+36.0

  • Clothing

    Sweden109
    South Korea103
    Difference+6.0
    SWE vs U.S.+9.0
    KOR vs U.S.+3.0

  • Housing

    Sweden64.2
    South Korea38
    Difference+26.2
    SWE vs U.S.−35.8
    KOR vs U.S.−62.0

  • Health

    Sweden71.4
    South Korea37
    Difference+34.4
    SWE vs U.S.−28.6
    KOR vs U.S.−63.0

  • Transport

    Sweden117
    South Korea73.8
    Difference+43.2
    SWE vs U.S.+17.0
    KOR vs U.S.−26.2

  • Recreation

    Sweden98.4
    South Korea71.6
    Difference+26.8
    SWE vs U.S.−1.6
    KOR vs U.S.−28.4

  • Restaurants & Accommodation

    Sweden97
    South Korea82.4
    Difference+14.6
    SWE vs U.S.−3.0
    KOR vs U.S.−17.6

Sweden and South Korea in Detail

Current Wage Position

Sweden reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $61,443 for 2025, and South Korea $61,259 for 2025. That puts Sweden ahead by 0.3%.

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 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 −1.7% 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 +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.

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

South Korea peaked at $61,259 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 81.5 in Sweden and 60.1 in South Korea — +21.4 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Food (−45.2) and Transport (+43.2).

Clothing is where they are nearest, at 109 and 103.

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.

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Latest data check

May 15, 2025