Tax rate on low wage earners - low wage trap by country
Countries reporting
33
Highest
97.09
Italy
Lowest
11.45
Cyprus
Median
43.8
Years covered
25
2001–2025
Data points
777
What the numbers show
Tax rate on low wage earners - low wage trap is currently reported for 33 countries. The highest value is 97.09 in Italy; the lowest is 11.45 in Cyprus.
The median across all reporting countries is 43.8, and the mean is 44.56.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 8.
Over the past decade 16 countries rose and 17 fell. The largest increase was in Italy (up 130.6%), and the largest decrease in Cyprus (down 76.0%).
Tax rate on low wage earners - low wage trap: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 97.09 | 2025 | up 130.6% | rising |
| 2 | Germany | 72.98 | 2025 | up 27.4% | flat |
| 3 | Austria | 69.87 | 2025 | up 35.9% | falling |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 65.82 | 2025 | up 15.9% | rising |
| 5 | Malta | 63.02 | 2025 | up 121.1% | rising |
| 6 | Slovenia | 54.95 | 2025 | up 11.0% | falling |
| 7 | Sweden | 53.27 | 2025 | up 38.0% | falling |
| 8 | Japan | 52.8 | 2023 | down 13.9% | falling |
| 9 | Belgium | 52.67 | 2025 | down 9.7% | flat |
| 10 | Poland | 52.43 | 2025 | down 16.8% | falling |
| 11 | France | 51.37 | 2025 | down 3.4% | rising |
| 12 | Finland | 50.49 | 2025 | down 11.6% | falling |
| 13 | Norway | 50.3 | 2023 | down 6.0% | falling |
| 14 | Lithuania | 47.01 | 2025 | down 15.4% | rising |
| 15 | Czechia | 46.35 | 2025 | down 12.7% | rising |
| 16 | Romania | 44.08 | 2025 | up 39.9% | rising |
| 17 | Iceland | 43.8 | 2023 | down 13.8% | rising |
| 18 | Netherlands | 43.24 | 2025 | down 35.4% | falling |
| 19 | Croatia | 42.94 | 2025 | up 56.7% | rising |
| 20 | Denmark | 39.45 | 2025 | down 50.6% | falling |
| 21 | Switzerland | 36.6 | 2023 | up 1.9% | falling |
| 22 | Ireland | 34.47 | 2025 | down 41.1% | rising |
| 23 | Hungary | 33.5 | 2025 | down 2.9% | falling |
| 24 | Latvia | 33.32 | 2025 | up 7.1% | falling |
| 25 | Portugal | 31.81 | 2025 | up 61.5% | rising |
| 26 | Türkiye | 31.6 | 2023 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 27 | Greece | 30.8 | 2025 | up 40.6% | falling |
| 28 | Slovakia | 29.85 | 2025 | down 1.8% | rising |
| 29 | Estonia | 28.51 | 2025 | up 24.5% | falling |
| 30 | United States | 27.7 | 2023 | down 9.2% | flat |
| 31 | Spain | 24.68 | 2025 | down 7.6% | rising |
| 32 | Bulgaria | 22.4 | 2025 | up 3.7% | flat |
| 33 | Cyprus | 11.45 | 2025 | down 76.0% | volatile |