South Korea
Latest Average Wage
+3.1% · 5 years
$61,259
Country Comparison
South Korea vs Germany
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
South Korea
vs
Germany
$61,2592025
Latest Average Wage
Germany +24.5%
(vs South Korea)
$76,2852025
+3.1%2025
5-Year Wage Change
South Korea +1.1 pts
(vs Germany)
+2.0%2025
+18.3%2025
10-Year Wage Change
South Korea +11.2 pts
(vs Germany)
+7.1%2025
60.12024
Overall Price Level
Germany +11.4 index points
(vs South Korea)
71.52024
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
Germany
Latest Average Wage
+2.0% · 5 years
$76,285
Wage Milestones
South Korea
10 Years Ago
$51,769 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,259 (2025)
Latest Wage
$61,259 (2025)
Germany
10 Years Ago
$71,244 (2015)
Historical Peak
$76,285 (2025)
Latest Wage
$76,285 (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
South Korea (KOR)Germany (DEU)
Overall
−11.4 index points
100
60.1vs71.5
Food
+47.3 index points
100
136vs88.7
Clothing
+12.6 index points
100
103vs90.4
Housing
−26.1 index points
100
38vs64.1
Health
−13.7 index points
100
37vs50.7
Transport
−40.2 index points
100
73.8vs114
Recreation
−15.0 index points
100
71.6vs86.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
−8.7 index points
100
82.4vs91.1
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Germany's latest average wage is $76,285 for 2025, about 24.5% higher than South Korea's $61,259 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. In annual terms the gap comes to about $15,025 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Germany shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against +0.6% for South Korea. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — South Korea at +3.1% and Germany at +2.0% — 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: 136 for South Korea against 88.7 for Germany. That is a separation of 47.3 index points on the US=100 scale, with South Korea on the higher side and Germany on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Restaurants & Accommodation: South Korea reads 82.4 and Germany 91.1 for 2024, just 8.7 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Overall at 11.4 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — Germany at $76,285 for 2025, and South Korea at $61,259 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 24.5% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $15,025 a year. 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. 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 South Korea recorded +18.3% and Germany +7.1%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
The five-year direction is shared here: both series rise, with different momentum on each side. 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%. Germany sits at the highest point of its series — $76,285 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +7.1%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +3.1% for South Korea against +2.0% for Germany, 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
South Korea's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 60.1, and Germany's reads 71.5, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Germany reads higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Food: 136 for South Korea against 88.7 for Germany, a gap of 47.3 index points. At the other end, Restaurants & Accommodation brings the two closest — 82.4 versus 91.1, a gap of just 8.7 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, South Korea reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and Germany in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
