United Kingdom vs Sweden

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

United Kingdom

Average wage (2025)

$66,299

1-year change: +0.7%
5-year change: +1.2%

Overall price level (2024)

84.3 (United States = 100)

United Kingdom's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 7.9% higher than Sweden's.

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)

United Kingdom has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 7.9% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years United Kingdom shows the stronger change (+1.2% against −1.7%). Overall consumer prices are higher in United Kingdom, at 84.3 against 81.5 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +2.8 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)

United KingdomSweden

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	United Kingdom	Sweden
Latest wage	$66,299	$61,443
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+0.7%	+0.9%
5-year change	+1.2%	−1.7%
10-year change	+3.3%	+3.2%
Historical peak	$66,480	$63,923
Peak year	2019	2021
Change from peak	−0.3%	−3.9%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

United Kingdom records the higher figure: $66,299 against $61,443, a gap of 7.9%. 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

The latest year moved both by a similar amount: +0.7% in United Kingdom and +0.9% in Sweden.

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 United Kingdom: +1.2% against −1.7%.

This is where the two separate: Sweden's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while United Kingdom'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 — +3.3% for United Kingdom and +3.2% for Sweden. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Neither is at its peak: United Kingdom is 0.3% from its 2019 high and Sweden 3.9% from its 2021 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

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	United Kingdom	Sweden	Difference (GBR − SWE)	GBR vs U.S.	SWE vs U.S.
Overall	84.3	81.5	+2.8	−15.7	−18.5
Food	85.1	90.8	−5.7	−14.9	−9.2
Clothing	78.9	109	−30.1	−21.1	+9.0
Housing	95.4	64.2	+31.2	−4.6	−35.8
Health	72.1	71.4	+0.7	−27.9	−28.6
Transport	111	117	−6.0	+11.0	+17.0
Recreation	90.2	98.4	−8.2	−9.8	−1.6
Restaurants & Accommodation	87.2	97	−9.8	−12.8	−3.0

Overall
United Kingdom84.3
Sweden81.5
Difference+2.8
GBR vs U.S.−15.7
SWE vs U.S.−18.5
Food
United Kingdom85.1
Sweden90.8
Difference−5.7
GBR vs U.S.−14.9
SWE vs U.S.−9.2
Clothing
United Kingdom78.9
Sweden109
Difference−30.1
GBR vs U.S.−21.1
SWE vs U.S.+9.0
Housing
United Kingdom95.4
Sweden64.2
Difference+31.2
GBR vs U.S.−4.6
SWE vs U.S.−35.8
Health
United Kingdom72.1
Sweden71.4
Difference+0.7
GBR vs U.S.−27.9
SWE vs U.S.−28.6
Transport
United Kingdom111
Sweden117
Difference−6.0
GBR vs U.S.+11.0
SWE vs U.S.+17.0
Recreation
United Kingdom90.2
Sweden98.4
Difference−8.2
GBR vs U.S.−9.8
SWE vs U.S.−1.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
United Kingdom87.2
Sweden97
Difference−9.8
GBR vs U.S.−12.8
SWE vs U.S.−3.0

United Kingdom and Sweden in Detail

Current Wage Position

United Kingdom reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $66,299 for 2025, and Sweden $61,443 for 2025. That puts United Kingdom ahead by 7.9%.

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 United Kingdom changed by +0.7% and Sweden by +0.9%. 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, United Kingdom records the larger change at +1.2%, 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 +3.3% for United Kingdom and +3.2% for Sweden. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

United Kingdom reached its highest recorded value of $66,480 in 2019, and the latest figure sits 0.3% from that high.

Sweden peaked at $63,923 in 2021, leaving its latest value 3.9% 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 84.3 in United Kingdom and 81.5 in Sweden — +2.8 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Housing (+31.2) and Clothing (−30.1).

Health is where they are nearest, at 72.1 and 71.4.

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.