Countries by Low-Wage Workers

Complete ranking of 37 countries • Percentage of full-time employees • Updated 2026

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Czechia leads all 37 countries in Low-Wage Workers with a value of 34.68% of full-time employees, while Turkey ranks last at 0.96% of full-time employees. This represents a 36-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.

What Low-Wage Workers Measures

Share of full-time employees with low wages, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Low-Wage Workers across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 0.96% of full-time employees (Turkey) to 34.68% of full-time employees (Czechia) — a 36-fold difference across 37 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 13 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 7.92% of full-time employees to 16.08% of full-time employees. The overall spread from 0.96% of full-time employees to 34.68% of full-time employees reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

Czechia holds a significant lead over United Kingdom, with a 48% gap between first and second place. While several countries cluster near the top, the leader's margin is notable.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Czechia

34.68% of full-time employees

Asia

Israel

23.38% of full-time employees

North America

United States

22.7% of full-time employees

Oceania

Australia

19.03% of full-time employees

South America

Chile

8.39% of full-time employees

Highest Low-Wage Workers

The 5 strongest Low-Wage Workers reads.

Czechia34.68% of full-time employees United Kingdom23.5% of full-time employees Israel23.38% of full-time employees United States22.7% of full-time employees Lithuania19.88% of full-time employees

Lowest Low-Wage Workers

The 5 lowest Low-Wage Workers reads.

Turkey0.96% of full-time employees New Zealand1.51% of full-time employees Italy3.30% of full-time employees Portugal5.06% of full-time employees Netherlands5.19% of full-time employees

Data Note

Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD How's Life / Well-Being, covering 37 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

1stCzechia34.68% of workers

2ndUnited Kingdom23.5% of workers

3rdIsrael23.38% of workers

4thUnited States22.7% of workers

5thLithuania19.88% of workers

6thPoland19.33% of workers

7thHungary19.32% of workers

8thAustralia19.03% of workers

9thCanada17.96% of workers

10thSouth Korea16.08% of workers

Country Ladder

1stCzechiaEurope34.68% of workers 2ndUnited KingdomEurope23.5% of workers 3rdIsraelAsia23.38% of workers 4thUnited StatesNorth America22.7% of workers 5thLithuaniaEurope19.88% of workers 6thPolandEurope19.33% of workers 7thHungaryEurope19.32% of workers 8thAustraliaOceania19.03% of workers 9thCanadaNorth America17.96% of workers 10thSouth KoreaAsia16.08% of workers 11thSlovakiaEurope16% of workers 12thGermanyEurope15.47% of workers 13thMexicoNorth America14.53% of workers 14thAustriaEurope14.26% of workers 15thLatviaEurope14.08% of workers 16thIrelandEurope12.46% of workers 17thColombiaNorth America12.17% of workers 18thSwitzerlandEurope12.1% of workers 19thEstoniaEurope12.05% of workers 20thSloveniaEurope11.45% of workers 21stBelgiumEurope11.44% of workers 22ndJapanAsia10.47% of workers 23rdFinlandEurope9.9% of workers 24thDenmarkEurope9.8% of workers 25thLuxembourgEurope9.5% of workers 26thCosta RicaNorth America8.9% of workers 27thChileSouth America8.4% of workers 28thGreeceEurope7.9% of workers 29thIcelandEurope7.6% of workers 30thNorwayEurope6.7% of workers 31stSpainEurope6.4% of workers 32ndFranceEurope6.2% of workers 33rdNetherlandsEurope5.2% of workers 34thPortugalEurope5.1% of workers 35thItalyEurope3.3% of workers 36thNew ZealandOceania1.5% of workers 37thTurkeyEurope0.96% of workers

Low-Wage Workers ranking for 37 countries
				Percentile
1st	Czechia	34.68% of workers	Europe	100%
2nd	United Kingdom	23.5% of workers	Europe	97%
3rd	Israel	23.38% of workers	Asia	95%
4th	United States	22.7% of workers	North America	92%
5th	Lithuania	19.88% of workers	Europe	89%
6th	Poland	19.33% of workers	Europe	86%
7th	Hungary	19.32% of workers	Europe	84%
8th	Australia	19.03% of workers	Oceania	81%
9th	Canada	17.96% of workers	North America	78%
10th	South Korea	16.08% of workers	Asia	76%
11th	Slovakia	16% of workers	Europe	73%
12th	Germany	15.47% of workers	Europe	70%
13th	Mexico	14.53% of workers	North America	68%
14th	Austria	14.26% of workers	Europe	65%
15th	Latvia	14.08% of workers	Europe	62%
16th	Ireland	12.46% of workers	Europe	59%
17th	Colombia	12.17% of workers	North America	57%
18th	Switzerland	12.1% of workers	Europe	54%
19th	Estonia	12.05% of workers	Europe	51%
20th	Slovenia	11.45% of workers	Europe	49%
21st	Belgium	11.44% of workers	Europe	46%
22nd	Japan	10.47% of workers	Asia	43%
23rd	Finland	9.9% of workers	Europe	41%
24th	Denmark	9.8% of workers	Europe	38%
25th	Luxembourg	9.5% of workers	Europe	35%
26th	Costa Rica	8.9% of workers	North America	32%
27th	Chile	8.4% of workers	South America	30%
28th	Greece	7.9% of workers	Europe	27%
29th	Iceland	7.6% of workers	Europe	24%
30th	Norway	6.7% of workers	Europe	22%
31st	Spain	6.4% of workers	Europe	19%
32nd	France	6.2% of workers	Europe	16%
33rd	Netherlands	5.2% of workers	Europe	14%
34th	Portugal	5.1% of workers	Europe	11%
35th	Italy	3.3% of workers	Europe	8%
36th	New Zealand	1.5% of workers	Oceania	5%
37th	Turkey	0.96% of workers	Europe	3%

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