Slovakia
Latest Average Wage
+2.7% · 5 years
$37,832
Country Comparison
Slovakia vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Slovakia
vs
Japan
$37,8322025
Latest Average Wage
Japan +32.6%
(vs Slovakia)
$50,1832025
+2.7%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Slovakia +4.8 pts
(vs Japan)
−2.2%2025
+19.0%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Slovakia +20.6 pts
(vs Japan)
−1.6%2025
52.92024
Overall Price Level
Japan +6.3 index points
(vs Slovakia)
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
Slovakia
10 Years Ago
$31,798 (2015)
Historical Peak
$37,832 (2025)
Latest Wage
$37,832 (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
Slovakia (SVK)Japan (JPN)
Overall
−6.3 index points
100
52.9vs59.2
Food
−40.3 index points
100
71.7vs112
Clothing
+17.3 index points
100
88.3vs71
Housing
−4.6 index points
100
43.9vs48.5
Health
−0.5 index points
100
33.4vs33.9
Transport
+4.6 index points
100
89vs84.4
Recreation
−3.5 index points
100
74.9vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
+1.6 index points
100
74.2vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Japan's latest average wage is $50,183 for 2025, about 32.6% higher than Slovakia's $37,832 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. That is roughly $12,351 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Slovakia shows the stronger movement at +1.6%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +2.7% against −2.2%. 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: 71.7 for Slovakia against 112 for Japan. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 40.3 index points apart, Japan above Slovakia. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Health: Slovakia reads 33.4 and Japan 33.9 for 2024, just 0.5 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 1.6 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — Japan at $50,183 for 2025, and Slovakia at $37,832 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 32.6% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $12,351 a year. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. 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 Slovakia recorded +19.0% against Japan's −1.6%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are moving in opposite directions — and the gap between them is narrowing as a result. Slovakia sits at the highest point of its series — $37,832 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +19.0%. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. Because Slovakia — the lower of the two latest wage levels — is the side currently gaining in real terms (+2.7% over five years against −2.2%), the distance between the two is shrinking on these measures rather than growing.
Price Profile
Slovakia's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 52.9, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Neither country is uniformly higher: Slovakia leads in 3 of the 8 comparable categories and Japan in 4, so the profile splits by category rather than by country. The widest separation is in Food: 71.7 for Slovakia against 112 for Japan, a gap of 40.3 index points. At the other end, Health brings the two closest — 33.4 versus 33.9, a gap of just 0.5 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Slovakia 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.
