Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea

Korea: Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap was 40.21 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
40.21 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
Change on year
up 1.7%
Rank
1st
of 2 groups
All-time high
44.87 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
in 2010
All-time low
38.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
in 2020
Years of data
20
2006–2025

Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea, 2006–2025

0102030402006201520252006: 44.5 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2007: 44.2 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2008: 44.3 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2009: 43.9 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2010: 44.9 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2011: 41.6 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2012: 41.5 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2013: 41.9 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2014: 40.8 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2015: 42.4 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2016: 42.7 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2017: 41.9 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2018: 41.1 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2019: 40 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2020: 39 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2021: 39.4 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2022: 40.4 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2023: 39.5 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2024: 39.5 Percentage of prime-age employees wage2025: 40.2 Percentage of prime-age employees wage

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of prime-age employees wage.

Analysis

In 2025, wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea stood at 40.21 Percentage of prime-age employees wage.

The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and down 5.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea peaked at 44.87 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in 2010 and was at its lowest, 38.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage, in 2020.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea, year by year

Annual values for Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea, 2006 to 2025.
Year Percentage of prime-age employees wage Change
2006 44.49 Percentage of prime-age employees wage
2007 44.21 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -0.6%
2008 44.27 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +0.1%
2009 43.94 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -0.8%
2010 44.87 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +2.1%
2011 41.65 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -7.2%
2012 41.54 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -0.2%
2013 41.88 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +0.8%
2014 40.83 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -2.5%
2015 42.38 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +3.8%
2016 42.72 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +0.8%
2017 41.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -1.8%
2018 41.12 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -2.0%
2019 39.99 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -2.7%
2020 38.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -2.6%
2021 39.44 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +1.3%
2022 40.43 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +2.5%
2023 39.47 Percentage of prime-age employees wage -2.4%
2024 39.54 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +0.2%
2025 40.21 Percentage of prime-age employees wage +1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 44.23 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 43.94 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 44.49 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 4
2010s 41.89 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 39.99 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 44.87 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 10
2020s 39.67 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 38.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 40.43 Percentage of prime-age employees wage 6

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 1 Brazil 47.98 Percentage of prime-age employees wage compare
  2. 2 Ireland 46.89 Percentage of prime-age employees wage compare
  3. 3 United States of America 46.46 Percentage of prime-age employees wage compare
  4. 4 Greece 43.57 Percentage of prime-age employees wage compare

See the full ranking of 43 places →

More work & labour data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea?
Wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea was 40.21 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 44.87 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in 2010.
What is the lowest wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 38.95 Percentage of prime-age employees wage in 2020.
How does Korea rank for wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap?
Korea ranks 1st out of 2 groups with data for 2025.
Is wage gap by age — youth to prime-age wage gap rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Korea data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/wage-gap-by-age-youth-to-prime-age-wage-gap/korea/

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About this data

Indicator
Wage gap by age — Youth to prime-age wage gap
Unit
Percentage of prime-age employees wage
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
43 places, 726 data points, 1973–2025
Last refreshed

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.