In this analysis, employee material welfare is measured by net income, calculated from average annual wages (plus the corresponding in-work benefits) minus the corresponding income tax and social contributions, for non-elderly single-person households, and then adjusted for per-capita social transfers in kind (e.g., government spending on goods and services related to health, education, and other welfare programs for households). The cost of living is also taken into account. The results are quite astonishing—in 2023, Taiwan ranks among the top five countries in employee material welfare, even surpassing the United States (see Figure 1).
§ Links:
…… Table 1. Raw data in 2023 and data sources (Last updated: Apr 8, 2025)
…… Table 2. OECD-Eurostat
…… Table 3. Taiwan and Singapore
…… The original artical in Mandarin
The corresponding figures for other economies in the Eurostat-OECD group, including Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland, are shown in Table 2. (Last updated: Jul 9, 2025)
Due to variations in methodology, median wages (or earnings) cannot be reliably compared across countries outside Europe. Instead, average wages are used, calculated from national accounts statistics by dividing total wages and salaries by the number of employees and converting the result into full-time equivalent units. To perform this conversion, wages and salaries per employee are multiplied by the ratio of average usual weekly hours worked for full-time dependent employees in their main jobs to average usual weekly hours worked for all dependent employees in their main jobs. Full-time employment is defined as usual weekly working hours of 30 or more per week in the main job.
More precisely, employee material welfare is measured as the net income of an average-wage, non-elderly single adult, calculated using the OECD tax-benefit model and adjusted for social transfers in kind from general government on a per-capita basis. This value is converted to US dollars using current purchasing power parities (PPPs) for actual individual consumption (AIC). This approach presents a different perspective from that of the household-based analysis.
Figure 1 illustrates the employee material welfare level and average annual wages, with the latter converted to US dollars using current PPPs for private consumption.
Figure 2 shows net income, also converted to US dollars using current PPPs for private consumption. Data on average annual wages of Eurostat-OECD countries (except Cyprus and Malta) and the OECD tax-benefit model are sourced from the OECD. (See Table 1 and 2 for more details. Raw data and sources for Taiwan and Singapore are provided in Table 1 and 3. Average annual wages of Cyprus and Malta are calculated based on data from Eurostat.)
Figure 3 and Figure 4 demonstrate the preliminary results in 2024.
It should be noted that the original OECD data for Iceland and New Zealand refers to compensation of employees, rather than specifically to wages and salaries. Similarly, the governments of Taiwan and New Zealand report only compensation of employees in their national accounts, without providing precise figures for wages and salaries. Therefore, the data for these countries have been further estimated. In the case of Iceland, wages and salaries can be easily derived from OECD sources, as this breakdown is available in its national accounts statistics. For Taiwan and New Zealand, however, additional data is required for estimation—specifically from earnings and labor compensation surveys. (See Table 1 for more details.)
Figure 1
Figure 2
The raw data on average wages for Singapore are not derived from national accounts statistics and refer only to its citizens and permanent residents, which may result in overestimated figures. In the case of Singapore, net income is defined as gross income minus income tax and contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF). Country code: See the Eurostat Website.
Figure 3
Figure 4
The OECD tax-benefit model is updated for all countries except Israel. For Israel, net income is obtained by using the previous model in 2023. For Taiwan, the figure of total wages and salaries is estimated by extrapolation based on the assumption that changes follow the same pattern as those in earning surveys. The raw data on average wages for Singapore are not derived from national accounts statistics and refer only to its citizens and permanent residents, which may result in overestimated figures. In the case of Singapore, net income is defined as gross income minus income tax and contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF). Country code: See the Eurostat Website.
According to explanations from the OECD, average wages derived from national accounts (NA) statistics may be lower than those from earnings surveys due to several factors:
- NA data include part-time employees, whereas earnings surveys may focus on full-time employees. Average wages calculated on a full-time equivalent basis are typically lower than those based solely on full-time workers.
- NA data include low-paid positions, such as apprentices.
- NA data cover all establishments, while earnings surveys may include only those with ten or more employees.
- NA data include secondary jobs (i.e., multiple job holders).
- NA data include supervisory employees who may be excluded from some surveys.
- NA data may account for wages and salaries paid to business owners, as well as undeclared earnings not captured in surveys.
The representativeness of average wages depends on the proportion of full-time employees relative to total employees. A lower proportion reduces the relevance to the majority of workers. The Netherlands exemplifies this, having the lowest proportion of full-time employees among advanced economies. In contrast, Taiwan has one of the highest proportions.
Taiwan's high material welfare is partly attributed to its low cost of living, which is significantly influenced by government interventions—such as subsidized electricity and fuel prices, lower labor costs in healthcare and education, and undervalued currency.
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