Country rankingsUpdated 13 November 2026

Where the same salary goes furthest

The same gross salary, at the same purchasing power, goes through each country's rules. At the top, where the most is left in hand.

This edition

South Africa, 32nd of 114, tied with one other country

Take-home a month: 2 218 a month
Tax and contributions: 11,3%
Change since October 2026: Down 18 places Down 18 places

Where the same salary goes furthest, on a gross salary of 30 000 international dollars a year
Rank	Country	Take-home a monthIn international dollars	Tax and contributions	Change since October 2026
1	Belgium	2 489	0,4%	Same place
2	Bangladesh	2 428	2,9%	New in the ranking
3	Netherlands	2 425	3,0%	Down 1 place
4	Thailand	2 416	3,3%	New in the ranking
5	Mauritius	2 404	3,9%	New in the ranking
6	Pakistan	2 379	4,8%	Down 3 places
7	Hong Kong SAR China	2 369	5,2%	Down 3 places
8	India	2 349	6,0%	Down 3 places
9	Guatemala	2 333	6,7%	Down 3 places
9	Nepal	2 333	6,7%	New in the ranking
11	Qatar	2 325	7,0%	New in the ranking
12	Bhutan	2 321	7,2%	New in the ranking
13	Jordan	2 305	7,8%	New in the ranking
14	Colombia	2 300	8,0%	Down 7 places
14	Fiji	2 300	8,0%	New in the ranking
14	Oman	2 300	8,0%	New in the ranking
17	Ecuador	2 290	8,4%	Down 9 places
18	Brunei	2 287	8,5%	New in the ranking
18	Indonesia	2 287	8,5%	New in the ranking
20	Botswana	2 282	8,7%	New in the ranking
21	South Korea	2 261	9,6%	New in the ranking
21	Sri Lanka	2 261	9,6%	New in the ranking
23	Saudi Arabia	2 256	9,8%	New in the ranking
24	Australia	2 250	10,0%	Down 15 places
25	Trinidad & Tobago	2 239	10,4%	New in the ranking
26	Kuwait	2 237	10,5%	New in the ranking
27	Dominican Republic	2 235	10,6%	Down 17 places
28	Costa Rica	2 229	10,8%	Down 17 places
29	Ireland	2 227	10,9%	Down 17 places
29	Italy	2 227	10,9%	Down 17 places
31	Finland	2 219	11,2%	New in the ranking
32	United Kingdom	2 218	11,3%	Down 18 places
32	South Africa	2 218	11,3%	Down 18 places
34	Cyprus	2 214	11,5%	New in the ranking
35	Togo	2 202	11,9%	New in the ranking
36	Uzbekistan	2 200	12,0%	New in the ranking
37	Spain	2 198	12,1%	Down 21 places
38	Peru	2 193	12,3%	Down 21 places
39	United States	2 190	12,4%	Down 21 places
40	Bolivia	2 182	12,7%	Down 21 places
40	Luxembourg	2 182	12,7%	Down 21 places
40	Namibia	2 182	12,7%	New in the ranking
43	Tajikistan	2 162	13,5%	New in the ranking
44	Israel	2 140	14,4%	New in the ranking
45	Norway	2 135	14,6%	New in the ranking
46	Montenegro	2 130	14,8%	New in the ranking
47	Panama	2 127	14,9%	Down 26 places
48	Philippines	2 121	15,2%	Down 26 places
49	Portugal	2 120	15,2%	Down 16 places
50	Jamaica	2 118	15,3%	New in the ranking
51	Estonia	2 109	15,6%	New in the ranking
52	New Zealand	2 107	15,7%	Down 29 places
53	Austria	2 106	15,7%	Down 29 places
53	Mozambique	2 106	15,7%	New in the ranking
55	China	2 105	15,8%	New in the ranking
56	Cameroon	2 102	15,9%	New in the ranking
57	Brazil	2 100	16,0%	Down 32 places
58	Seychelles	2 086	16,6%	New in the ranking
59	Sweden	2 083	16,7%	New in the ranking
60	Iceland	2 079	16,8%	New in the ranking
61	Argentina	2 075	17,0%	Down 35 places
62	Mexico	2 070	17,2%	Down 35 places
63	Canada	2 066	17,3%	Down 35 places
63	El Salvador	2 066	17,4%	Down 35 places
65	Paraguay	2 064	17,4%	Down 35 places
66	Benin	2 053	17,9%	New in the ranking
67	Burkina Faso	2 048	18,1%	New in the ranking
67	Kazakhstan	2 048	18,1%	New in the ranking
69	Chile	2 047	18,1%	Down 38 places
70	Moldova	2 036	18,6%	New in the ranking
71	Kyrgyzstan	2 027	18,9%	New in the ranking
72	Nicaragua	2 026	19,0%	Down 40 places
73	Lesotho	2 018	19,3%	New in the ranking
74	Czechia	2 010	19,6%	New in the ranking
75	Japan	2 005	19,8%	New in the ranking
76	Mongolia	2 000	20,0%	New in the ranking
77	Singapore	1 995	20,2%	Down 43 places
78	Türkiye	1 994	20,2%	New in the ranking
79	Greece	1 993	20,3%	New in the ranking
80	Uruguay	1 980	20,8%	Down 45 places
81	Albania	1 978	20,9%	New in the ranking
81	Angola	1 978	20,9%	New in the ranking
81	France	1 978	20,9%	Down 45 places
84	Cape Verde	1 965	21,4%	New in the ranking
85	Egypt	1 963	21,5%	New in the ranking
86	Mauritania	1 962	21,5%	New in the ranking
87	Georgia	1 960	21,6%	New in the ranking
88	Bulgaria	1 940	22,4%	New in the ranking
89	Ukraine	1 925	23,0%	New in the ranking
90	Côte d’Ivoire	1 923	23,1%	New in the ranking
91	Latvia	1 921	23,2%	New in the ranking
92	Germany	1 910	23,6%	Down 55 places
93	Slovakia	1 900	24,0%	New in the ranking
94	Nigeria	1 890	24,4%	Down 56 places
95	Liberia	1 871	25,2%	New in the ranking
96	Poland	1 864	25,4%	New in the ranking
97	Tunisia	1 853	25,9%	New in the ranking
98	Ghana	1 847	26,1%	Down 59 places
99	Armenia	1 838	26,5%	New in the ranking
100	Tanzania	1 835	26,6%	Down 60 places
101	Algeria	1 834	26,6%	New in the ranking
102	Serbia	1 817	27,3%	New in the ranking
103	Suriname	1 814	27,4%	New in the ranking
104	Gambia	1 810	27,6%	New in the ranking
105	Croatia	1 806	27,8%	New in the ranking
106	Denmark	1 782	28,7%	New in the ranking
107	Kenya	1 744	30,2%	Down 66 places
108	Uganda	1 709	31,7%	New in the ranking
109	Malawi	1 705	31,8%	New in the ranking
110	Slovenia	1 688	32,5%	New in the ranking
111	Rwanda	1 681	32,8%	New in the ranking
112	Hungary	1 662	33,5%	New in the ranking
113	Ethiopia	1 526	39,0%	New in the ranking
114	Romania	1 479	40,8%	New in the ranking

For the press

The line, the chart and the link for this ranking, ready to publish.

South Africa, 32nd of 114, tied with one other country in “Where the same salary goes furthest” (gross salary of 30 000 international dollars a year). Source: CalcularYa, data as of 13 November 2026. https://calcularya.com/za/country-rankings/where-pay-goes-furthest

Download the chart

Chart of the “Where the same salary goes furthest” ranking

How it's built

Monthly take-home pay is the average over 12 months, in international dollars.
Reference salaries: 12 000, 30 000 and 75 000 international dollars gross a year.
Two countries with the same value in the table share the rank, and the next one skips (1, 2, 2, 4).
The change in rank is measured against the snapshot of the ranking saved each month. Without last month's snapshot, it isn't shown.

See the full methodology Data in CSV Data in JSON

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