Countries With the Highest Gender Wage Gaps
Every country with a figure for gender wage gap, ranked from highest to lowest. The top three are Korea, Rep. (36.7%), Estonia (28.3%) and Japan (25.7%). The middle country of the 38 has 14.1%.
What this measures
Gender gap in median full-time earnings, in % of men's median earnings. Source: OECD. For this measure, higher is worse.
The difference between men's and women's middle (median) earnings among full-time employees, as a share of men's. It is not adjusted: it includes the gap that comes from women and men doing different jobs, which is most of it. From a 2017 release kept as a snapshot, so the series ends in 2016, and the years differ between countries.
The full ranking
Each country’s latest figure, from 2011–2016. The year beside each value says when it was measured.
| Rank | Country | Gender wage gap | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea, Rep. | 36.7% | 2016 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 2 | Estonia | 28.3% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 3 | Japan | 25.7% | 2015 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 4 | Israel | 21.8% | 2011 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 5 | Chile | 21.1% | 2015 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 6 | Latvia | 21.1% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 7 | Portugal | 18.9% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 8 | Canada | 18.6% | 2015 | North America |
| 9 | Finland | 18.1% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 10 | United States | 18.1% | 2016 | North America |
| 11 | Germany | 17.1% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 12 | Austria | 17% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 13 | Switzerland | 16.9% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 14 | United Kingdom | 16.8% | 2016 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 15 | Mexico | 16.5% | 2016 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 16 | Czechia | 16.3% | 2016 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 17 | Ireland | 14.4% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 18 | Australia | 14.3% | 2016 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 19 | Netherlands | 14.1% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 20 | Slovak Republic | 13.9% | 2016 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 21 | Sweden | 13.4% | 2013 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 22 | Lithuania | 12.5% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 23 | Spain | 11.5% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 24 | Colombia | 11.1% | 2015 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 25 | Poland | 11.1% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 26 | France | 9.9% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 27 | Iceland | 9.9% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 28 | Hungary | 9.5% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 29 | Norway | 7.1% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 30 | Turkiye | 6.9% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 31 | Greece | 6.2% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 32 | New Zealand | 6.1% | 2014 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 33 | Denmark | 5.8% | 2015 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 34 | Italy | 5.6% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 35 | Slovenia | 5% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 36 | Costa Rica | 3.7% | 2015 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 37 | Luxembourg | 3.4% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 38 | Belgium | 3.3% | 2014 | Europe & Central Asia |
More on gender wage gap
- Countries With the Lowest Gender Wage Gaps
- Gender wage gap by country: trend over time and what it goes with
Related rankings
- Countries With the Highest Gender Inequality Index
- Countries With the Highest Gender Development Index
- Countries With the Highest Women's Political Empowerment
- Countries With the Highest Women Ministers
- Countries With the Highest Women in Parliament
- Countries With the Highest Women in Management
- Countries With the Highest Married by 18
- Countries With the Highest Gender Scores
A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.