Netherlands
Latest Average Wage
−2.0% · 5 years
$80,136
Country Comparison
Netherlands vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Netherlands
vs
Japan
$80,1362025
Latest Average Wage
Netherlands +59.7%
(vs Japan)
$50,1832025
−2.0%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Netherlands +0.2 pts
(vs Japan)
−2.2%2025
−3.1%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Japan +1.5 pts
(vs Netherlands)
−1.6%2025
78.42024
Overall Price Level
Netherlands +19.2 index points
(vs Japan)
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
Netherlands
10 Years Ago
$82,711 (2015)
Historical Peak
$83,103 (2016)
Latest Wage
$80,136 (2025)
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
Netherlands (NLD)Japan (JPN)
Overall
+19.2 index points
100
78.4vs59.2
Food
−27.6 index points
100
84.4vs112
Clothing
+11.7 index points
100
82.7vs71
Housing
+24.6 index points
100
73.1vs48.5
Health
+26.9 index points
100
60.8vs33.9
Transport
+34.6 index points
100
119vs84.4
Recreation
+11.6 index points
100
90vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
+26.6 index points
100
99.2vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Netherlands' latest average wage is $80,136 for 2025, about 59.7% higher than Japan's $50,183 for 2025 — computed straight from the two reported values. Per year, that works out to roughly $29,954 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Netherlands shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: −2.0% against −2.2%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Transport shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 119 for Netherlands against 84.4 for Japan. Netherlands sits on the higher side of that 34.6-point spread; Japan reads 34.6 index points lower on the US=100 scale. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Recreation: Netherlands reads 90 and Japan 78.4 for 2024, just 11.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Clothing at 11.7 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — Netherlands' latest average wage of $80,136 for 2025 stands well above Japan's $50,183 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 59.7% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $29,954 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 Netherlands recorded −3.1% and Japan −1.6%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
Both wage series decline over the five-year horizon, though not at the same pace. Netherlands is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.9%, though the level remains 3.6% 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: −2.2% for Japan against −2.0% for Netherlands, 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
Netherlands' overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 78.4, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Netherlands reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Transport: 119 for Netherlands against 84.4 for Japan, a gap of 34.6 index points. At the other end, Recreation brings the two closest — 90 versus 78.4, a gap of just 11.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Netherlands reads above 100 in 1 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.
