Türkiye
Latest Average Wage
+61.0% · 5 years
$57,275
Country Comparison
Türkiye vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Türkiye
vs
Japan
$57,2752024
Latest Average Wage
Türkiye +14.1%
(vs Japan)
$50,1832025
+61.0%2024
5-Year Wage Change
Türkiye +63.2 pts
(vs Japan)
−2.2%2025
+96.2%2024
10-Year Wage Change
Türkiye +97.8 pts
(vs Japan)
−1.6%2025
322024
Overall Price Level
Japan +27.2 index points
(vs Türkiye)
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
Türkiye
10 Years Ago
$29,200 (2014)
Historical Peak
$57,275 (2024)
Latest Wage
$57,275 (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
Türkiye (TUR)Japan (JPN)
Overall
−27.2 index points
100
32vs59.2
Food
−48.0 index points
100
64vs112
Clothing
−7.5 index points
100
63.5vs71
Housing
−31.7 index points
100
16.8vs48.5
Health
−19.4 index points
100
14.5vs33.9
Transport
−4.5 index points
100
79.9vs84.4
Recreation
−25.3 index points
100
53.1vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
−17.5 index points
100
55.1vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Türkiye's latest average wage is $57,275 for 2024, about 14.1% higher than Japan's $50,183 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. That is roughly $7,092 a year on the same PPP basis. The two figures come from different reference years.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Türkiye shows the stronger movement at +19.0%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +61.0% 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: 64 for Türkiye against 112 for Japan. That is a separation of 48.0 index points on the US=100 scale, with Japan on the higher side and Türkiye 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 Transport: Türkiye reads 79.9 and Japan 84.4 for 2024, just 4.5 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Clothing at 7.5 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Türkiye holds a clear wage lead in this pairing: $57,275 for 2024, against Japan's $50,183 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 14.1% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $7,092 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. The reference years differ — 2024 for Türkiye and 2025 for Japan — so part of the gap reflects timing rather than level, and the two records are kept separate. Over ten years Türkiye recorded +96.2% against Japan's −1.6%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are currently moving in opposite directions, and the separation between them is growing. Türkiye sits at the highest point of its series — $57,275 in 2024 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +96.2%. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. Türkiye is the side gaining in real terms (+61.0% over five years), while Japan records −2.2%, so the five-year measures point away from each other instead of converging. Each percentage is a real, PPP-adjusted change; nominal pay movements are outside what this dataset reports.
Price Profile
Türkiye's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 32, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. One side of this pairing dominates the price profile: Japan sits higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories. Food separates the two most: Türkiye reads 64 and Japan 112, 48.0 index points apart. The two sit closest in Transport (79.9 versus 84.4), only 4.5 index points apart. Counted against the US reference of 100, 0 of Türkiye's 8 reported categories sit above the line, against 1 of Japan'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.
