Median Income by Country 2022

A country’s median income is a middle measure of its income distribution. Half of a country’s population earns more than the median income, while the other half earns less than the median.

There are a few advantages to using the median instead of the average or the mean when making statistical comparisons. A sample group of persons and their earnings, for example:

Mike – $30,000 Ahmed – $40,000 Stephanie – $50,000 Midori – $40,000 Contessa – $25,000 Gary – $55,000 Jordan – $1,000,000

For all seven persons, the average wage is $177,142 since Jordan has a high salary. This is completely false for all seven people. For everyone else, though, the median (sometimes referred to as “average”) salary is about $40,000, which is about right.

For example, the World Bank monitors GDP per capita, GNI per capita, and the GINI coefficient for each nation and median income. According to the World Bank, these are the top 10 nations with the greatest median earnings in March 2021.

International dollars, a fictional currency used in country-to-country comparisons, are utilized in these figures. There is no real-world currency equal to international dollars, not even the U.S. dollar or the euro.

As of March 2021, the 10 countries with the highest median incomes (PPP, current international currency):

1. Luxembourg – 26,321
2. United Arab Emirates – 24,292
3. Norway – 22,684
4. Switzerland – 21,490
5. United States – 19,306
6. Canada – 18,652
7. Austria – 18,405
8. Sweden – 17,625
9. Denmark – 17,432
10. Netherlands – 17,154

The 10 countries with the lowest median income in March 2021 (PPP, Current Int$):

1. Congo, Democratic Republic of – 395
2. Madagascar – 398
3. Burundi – 475
4. Malawi – 484
5. Guinea-Bissau – 486
6. Central African Republic – 491
7. Mozambique – 529
8. Zambia – 545
9. Uzbekistan – 591
10. Rwanda – 621

According to Gallup statistics, the median household income was $9,733 (PPP, USD) in 2013. Burundi and Madagascar were two of the countries with lower median incomes.

Also See: Market Economy Countries 2022

Self-reported information was used to compile this study between 2006 and 2012. See the table below for a complete list of nations and their median earnings (PPP, Current Int$).