France
Latest Average Wage
+3.7% · 5 years
$60,483
Country Comparison
France vs South Korea
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
France
vs
South Korea
$60,4832025
Latest Average Wage
South Korea +1.3%
(vs France)
$61,2592025
+3.7%2025
5-Year Wage Change
France +0.6 pts
(vs South Korea)
+3.1%2025
+1.7%2025
10-Year Wage Change
South Korea +16.6 pts
(vs France)
+18.3%2025
70.42024
Overall Price Level
France +10.3 index points
(vs South Korea)
60.12024
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
South Korea
Latest Average Wage
+3.1% · 5 years
$61,259
Wage Milestones
France
10 Years Ago
$59,485 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,289 (2019)
Latest Wage
$60,483 (2025)
South Korea
10 Years Ago
$51,769 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,259 (2025)
Latest Wage
$61,259 (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
France (FRA)South Korea (KOR)
Overall
+10.3 index points
100
70.4vs60.1
Food
−42.6 index points
100
93.4vs136
Clothing
−16.9 index points
100
86.1vs103
Housing
+30.3 index points
100
68.3vs38
Health
+6.4 index points
100
43.4vs37
Transport
+40.2 index points
100
114vs73.8
Recreation
+10.6 index points
100
82.2vs71.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
+7.7 index points
100
90.1vs82.4
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
South Korea's latest average wage is $61,259 for 2025, about 1.3% higher than France's $60,483 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. In annual terms the gap comes to about $776 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, France shows the stronger movement at +1.0%, against +0.6% for South Korea. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +3.7% against +3.1%. 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: 93.4 for France against 136 for South Korea. That is a separation of 42.6 index points on the US=100 scale, with South Korea on the higher side and France on the lower one. The gap is stated in index points, which are not interchangeable with percentages.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Health: France reads 43.4 and South Korea 37 for 2024, just 6.4 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 7.7 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
France and South Korea report nearly the same PPP-adjusted average annual wage: $61,259 for 2025, against $60,483 for 2025. The difference is 1.3% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $776 a year, which is small next to either figure. Because both values already sit on the same USD PPP, constant-2025-price footing, the comparison adjusts for price-level differences between the two economies. Over ten years France recorded +1.7% and South Korea +18.3%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction. For most side-by-side readings the two wage levels can be treated as equivalent within this dataset.
Wage Direction
Both wage series rise over the five-year horizon, though not at the same pace. France stands just below its historical high of $61,289 in 2019, only 1.3% away, with a ten-year change of +1.7%. South Korea sits at the highest point of its series — $61,259 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +18.3%. France's five-year change of +3.7% outpaces South Korea's +3.1% in magnitude, so the common direction does not mean the two levels are holding a fixed distance. Each percentage is a real, PPP-adjusted change; nominal pay movements are outside what this dataset reports.
Price Profile
France's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 70.4, and South Korea's reads 60.1, each measured against the United States reference of 100. One side of this pairing dominates the price profile: France sits higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories. Food separates the two most: France reads 93.4 and South Korea 136, 42.6 index points apart. The two sit closest in Health (43.4 versus 37), only 6.4 index points apart. Counted against the US reference of 100, 1 of France's 8 reported categories sit above the line, against 2 of South Korea's 8. These are index values for 2024, not currency amounts; categories without a reported value on either side are left out of the comparison.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
