Wage gap by age — Senior to prime-age wage gap by country
This dataset contains age wage gaps defined as the difference between mean (median) earnings of 25-54 year-olds and that of 15-24 year-olds (respectively 55-64 year-olds) relative to mean (median) earnings of 25-54 year-olds. Earnings refer to gross earnings of full-time dependent employees unless otherwise indicated.
What the numbers show
Wage gap by age — Senior to prime-age wage gap is currently reported for 36 countries. The highest value is 15.68 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in Bulgaria; the lowest is -28.22 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in Greece.
The median across all reporting countries is -5.9 Percentage of prime-age employees wage, and the mean is -7.09 Percentage of prime-age employees wage.
Over the past decade 25 countries rose and 11 fell. The largest increase was in Mexico (up 865.5%), and the largest decrease in New Zealand (down 4,842.3%).
Wage gap by age — Senior to prime-age wage gap: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgaria | 15.68 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 408.3% | volatile |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 15.47 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | up 252.3% | volatile |
| 3 | Chile | 10.13 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | up 378.3% | volatile |
| 4 | Czechia | 6.79 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | up 109.8% | volatile |
| 5 | Hungary | 6.57 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | up 654.1% | volatile |
| 6 | Mexico | 5.94 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | up 865.5% | volatile |
| 7 | Malta | 4.37 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 526.1% | volatile |
| 8 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 2.48 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2021 | up 0.9% | falling |
| 9 | Canada | 0.109 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | up 109.2% | volatile |
| 10 | United States of America | -1.19 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | up 88.7% | volatile |
| 11 | Romania | -2.84 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 91.7% | volatile |
| 12 | Japan | -2.97 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2022 | down 265.3% | volatile |
| 13 | New Zealand | -3.11 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | down 4,842.3% | volatile |
| 14 | Germany | -3.89 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2023 | up 65.8% | rising |
| 15 | Finland | -4.07 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | down 15.5% | volatile |
| 16 | Denmark | -4.83 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | down 170.0% | volatile |
| 17 | Australia | -5.41 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2020 | down 243.1% | volatile |
| 18 | Sweden | -5.78 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 19 | Argentina | -6.02 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | up 57.5% | rising |
| 20 | Ireland | -6.99 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 48.2% | rising |
| 21 | Iceland | -7.39 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | down 402.0% | volatile |
| 22 | Norway | -10.99 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2025 | down 48.9% | falling |
| 23 | Israel | -11.52 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2023 | up 22.2% | rising |
| 24 | Peru | -11.68 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2022 | up 28.6% | rising |
| 25 | Switzerland | -13.25 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | up 18.5% | flat |
| 26 | Spain | -13.94 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 37.6% | rising |
| 27 | Brazil | -15.55 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | up 53.7% | rising |
| 28 | Colombia | -15.94 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2024 | down 1.3% | rising |
| 29 | France | -17.08 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 47.1% | rising |
| 30 | Italy | -18.52 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 37.1% | rising |
| 31 | Portugal | -19.97 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 7.4% | falling |
| 32 | Austria | -20.31 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | down 16.8% | rising |
| 33 | Cyprus | -20.92 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 19.7% | falling |
| 34 | Belgium | -24.2 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2022 | down 0.1% | rising |
| 35 | Luxembourg | -26.22 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 22.2% | rising |
| 36 | Greece | -28.22 Percentage of prime-age employees wage | 2018 | up 25.5% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Lithuania 15.44 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
- Slovak Republic 8.11 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
- Poland 6.25 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
- Korea 4.58 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
- Slovenia -11.66 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
- Netherlands -14.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
About this data
This dataset contains age wage gaps defined as the difference between mean (median) earnings of 25-54 year-olds and that of 15-24 year-olds (respectively 55-64 year-olds) relative to mean (median) earnings of 25-54 year-olds. Earnings refer to gross earnings of full-time dependent employees unless otherwise indicated.