Colombia
Latest Average Wage
−3.9% · 5 years
$30,133
Country Comparison
Colombia vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Colombia
vs
Japan
$30,1332024
Latest Average Wage
Japan +66.5%
(vs Colombia)
$50,1832025
−3.9%2024
5-Year Wage Change
Japan +1.7 pts
(vs Colombia)
−2.2%2025
+2.4%2024
10-Year Wage Change
Colombia +4.0 pts
(vs Japan)
−1.6%2025
32.62024
Overall Price Level
Japan +26.6 index points
(vs Colombia)
59.22024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Japan
Latest Average Wage
−2.2% · 5 years
$50,183
Wage Milestones
Colombia
10 Years Ago
$29,443 (2014)
Historical Peak
$35,659 (2020)
Latest Wage
$30,133 (2024)
Japan
10 Years Ago
$51,027 (2015)
Historical Peak
$52,662 (1997)
Latest Wage
$50,183 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Colombia (COL)Japan (JPN)
Overall
−26.6 index points
100
32.6vs59.2
Food
−46.6 index points
100
65.4vs112
Clothing
−10.6 index points
100
60.4vs71
Housing
−21.9 index points
100
26.6vs48.5
Health
−15.3 index points
100
18.6vs33.9
Transport
−34.6 index points
100
49.8vs84.4
Recreation
−30.6 index points
100
47.8vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
−32.1 index points
100
40.5vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Japan's latest average wage is $50,183 for 2025, about 66.5% higher than Colombia's $30,133 for 2024 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. Per year, that works out to roughly $20,049 on the shared purchasing-power basis. The two figures come from different reference years.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Colombia shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Colombia at −3.9% and Japan at −2.2% — so the latest year is not the whole story. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Food shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 65.4 for Colombia against 112 for Japan. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 46.6 index points apart, Japan above Colombia. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Clothing: Colombia reads 60.4 and Japan 71 for 2024, just 10.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Health at 15.3 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — Japan's latest average wage of $50,183 for 2025 stands well above Colombia's $30,133 for 2024. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 66.5% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $20,049 a year. No extra conversion is needed here: each figure is already a purchasing-power-adjusted annual amount in constant prices. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Colombia recorded +2.4% against Japan's −1.6%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
Both wage series decline over the five-year horizon, though not at the same pace. Colombia is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.9%, though the level remains 15.5% below its peak. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: −3.9% for Colombia against −2.2% for Japan, so the distance between the two levels keeps shifting. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Colombia's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 32.6, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Japan reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Food: 65.4 for Colombia against 112 for Japan, a gap of 46.6 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 60.4 versus 71, a gap of just 10.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Colombia reads above 100 in 0 of its 8 reported categories, and Japan in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
