Japan vs South Korea: Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings
Japan
25.7%
in 2015
South Korea
36.7%
in 2016
Japan rank
2nd
South Korea rank
1st
Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 36.7% against 25.7% in Japan, a difference of 11.0%.
That makes South Korea's figure about 1.4 times Japan's.
Across all 25 years both countries report, South Korea has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 2nd and South Korea ranks 1st of 29 countries.
South Korea has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 41.7% | 52.8% | 11.1% | South Korea |
| 1990s | 36.9% | 44.2% | 7.2% | South Korea |
| 2000s | 32.0% | 39.8% | 7.8% | South Korea |
| 2010s | 26.8% | 37.2% | 10.4% | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher unadjusted gender gap in median earnings, Japan or South Korea?
- South Korea, at 36.7% against 25.7% in Japan as of 2016.
- What is the difference in unadjusted gender gap in median earnings between Japan and South Korea?
- 11.0%, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 25 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2015.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for unadjusted gender gap in median earnings?
- Japan ranks 2nd and South Korea ranks 1st of 29 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The gender wage gap is unadjusted and is defined as the difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men. Estimates refer to full-time employees and to self-employed workers.