In OECD countries, workers who have not attained upper secondary education earn, on average, 18% less than those who have attained this level of education. Meanwhile, workers with a tertiary education earn, on average, 56% more than those with only an upper secondary education.
Between 2013 and 2022, the gender pay gap for women has generally narrowed across OECD countries. However, the amount of improvement varies by country and educational attainment level. In most countries, the gender pay gap narrowed the most for those without upper secondary education.
Earnings disparities based on educational attainment tend to increase with age. On average across OECD countries, 25-34 year-olds with tertiary attainment earn 39% more than those with upper secondary education, with the difference rising to 68% among 45-54 year-olds.
Education at a Glance 2024
Higher education levels typically lead to better job opportunities (see Chapter A3) and higher earnings. Along with other social benefits, the prospect of earning more and seeing those earnings grow over time encourages individuals to seek education and training.
The earnings advantage from higher educational attainment can vary based on age, gender, programme type and field of study. The intensity of the participation in the labour market, such as the number of hours worked, also affects earnings: part-time workers generally earn less both overall and in their hourly rates. Similarly, workers with more labour-market experience tend to have higher incomes. Gender wage gaps persist globally, regardless of age, education level or programme type.
Additional factors influencing earnings and their distribution include labour-market demand for skills, the supply of workers and skills, minimum wage laws, and labour-market regulations. Country-specific factors such as the strength of labour unions, the extent of collective bargaining agreements and the quality of working environments also play a significant role. Additionally, the presence of foreign-born workers can impact earnings distribution, as they may face different labour-market conditions to native-born workers, including potential barriers to employment, wage disparities and varying levels of skill recognition. The integration policies and support systems available to foreign-born workers also influence their economic outcomes and, consequently, a country’s overall earnings distribution.
In almost all OECD, partner and accession countries, gender differences in earnings increase between 25-34 year-olds and 45-54 year-olds. Among full-time full-year 25-34 year-old workers, women earn between 83 and 85% of men’s earnings, depending on the level of educational attainment; while 45-54 year-old women earn between 76 and 79% of men's earnings.
The internal rate of return on tertiary education averages 15% for men across OECD countries and 18% for women. The highest internal rate of return is observed in Ireland with 26% for men and 41% for women.
Emergency savings are an important protection from financial hardships in case of unexpected expenses or shortfalls in income. Even when comparing only households with similar incomes, individuals with lower educational attainment are much more likely to lack basic emergency savings than individuals with higher educational attainment.
Higher educational qualifications are generally associated with a smaller earnings gap between foreign-born and native-born workers, although significant variations exist. In countries like Latvia and the United States, foreign-born adults with tertiary education earn slightly more than native-born adults, on average. However, in Austria and Spain, tertiary-educated foreign-born workers earn substantially less, potentially indicating barriers to economic opportunities despite high education levels.
On average, across OECD countries, adults with a short-cycle tertiary degree earn 20% more than those with only an upper secondary education. This earnings advantage increases to 42% for individuals with a bachelor's or equivalent degree and to 90% for those who have attained a master's, doctoral or equivalent degree.
The analysis presents three types of relative earnings: 1) using the earnings of workers with upper secondary education as the baseline, 2) using male workers’ earnings as the baseline, and 3) using native-born adults’ earnings as the baseline. In all cases, given the focus on relative earnings, any increase or decrease in the results could reflect a change in the interest group (numerator) or in the baseline group (denominator). Readers are advised to consider actual earnings in Tables X3.A4.4 and X3.A4.5 from Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes when interpreting relative earnings (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Due to the difference in survey methods used to gather data from countries, the analysis of relative earnings is based on full-time full-year workers to ensure better comparability across countries. Refer to Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en) for more information on the survey methods. Data on relative earnings for all workers (full- and part-time) are available for consultation on line (http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s).
Higher levels of educational attainment in general lead to higher earnings. The foundational skills, knowledge and competencies provided by upper secondary education are essential in the labour market and ensure that individuals have achieved a minimum level of literacy and numeracy, which are fundamental for most jobs. Without these basic skills, individuals are often limited to low-paying jobs.
Tertiary education is key in achieving upward economic and social mobility, enabling individuals to improve their socio-economic status through higher earnings. The in-depth knowledge and specialised skills provided by tertiary programmes make individuals more competitive in the job market. A tertiary degree also opens up a wider range of job opportunities, including those in professional and managerial roles, which typically offer higher salaries. Universities and colleges also provide opportunities for students to network with their peers, professors and industry professionals, which can lead to better job prospects and higher earnings.
In OECD countries, 25-64 year-old full-time full-year workers without upper secondary education earn on average 18% less than their peers who have attained upper secondary education. The difference is over 50% in Chile and only 7% in Australia and Lithuania, while in Finland, the earnings of workers with and without upper secondary attainment are similar (Table A4.1 and Figure A4.1).
The average earnings of tertiary-educated full-time full-year workers are substantially higher than those of workers with only upper secondary attainment. The earnings premium for completing a tertiary degree is 56% on average across OECD countries. Country differences are also greater for this measure. The earnings advantage for tertiary-educated workers is 25% or less in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, but over 100% in Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica (Figure A4.1).
Among tertiary-educated workers, the earnings advantage tends to increase with the level of tertiary attainment. In most OECD, partner and accession countries, full-time full-year workers with a master’s or doctoral or equivalent degree earn more than those with a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, who in turn earn more than those with a short-cycle tertiary degree. On average across OECD countries, adults with a short-cycle tertiary degree earn 20% more than those with upper secondary attainment. The average earnings advantage is 42% for those with a bachelor’s or equivalent degree and increases to 90% for those with a master’s or doctoral or equivalent degree ().
Earnings differences by educational attainment tend to widen among older workers. On average across OECD countries, 25-34 year-olds without upper secondary education earn 15% less than their peers with upper secondary attainment while 45-54 year-olds earn 20% less. Among tertiary-educated adults, 25-34 year-olds earn 39% more than those with upper secondary attainment and the average earnings advantage reaches 68% among 45-54 year-olds (Table A4.1).
Although increasing educational attainment narrows gender differences in employment rates (see Chapter A3), the gender gap in earnings does not vary much across educational attainment levels. On average across OECD countries, tertiary-educated women working full-time and for the full year earn 77% of the earnings of their male peers, compared to 81% among those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and 79% for those with below upper secondary attainment (Table A4.3). As women are more likely to work part-time and/or part year than men, the gender differences in earnings are wider among all workers than among full-time full-year workers (OECD, 2023[1]).
For all education levels, the gender gap widens with age up until age 54. Among full-time full-year 25-34 year-old workers, women earn between 83 and 85% of men’s earnings, depending on the level of educational attainment; while 45-54 year-old women earn between 76 and 79% of men's earnings. On average, the gender gap is at least 5 percentage points wider for 45-54 year-old women than for 25-34 year-old ones. However, this is not true for all countries and all educational attainment levels. For example, in Italy, the gender pay gap among tertiary-educated 45-54 year-olds is over 10 percentage points lower than among 25-34 year-olds with the same level of educational attainment. Moreover, the earnings gap between men and women narrows on average across OECD countries for 55-64 year-olds without tertiary education and does not widen for their tertiary-educated peers compared to the average for all age groups (Table A4.3).
There is no single explanation for why the gender pay gap persists. Despite women outpacing men in educational attainment (see Chapter A1), the gender pay gap reflects various complex factors including occupational segregation, biased hiring practices, and unequal opportunities for career advancement (World Economic Forum, 2023[2]). Women are less likely than men to be promoted or to get considerable wage increases when they change employers. Moreover, career breaks for women around the age of childbirth remain an important contributor to wage differences between men and women in many OECD countries (OECD, 2022[3]). Women are more likely to seek less competitive paths and greater flexibility at work in order to deal with their family commitments. This leads to lower earnings than men with the same educational attainment and, while there have been improvements in gender pay equality, significant disparities still exist globally, with women often earning less than men for similar work due to ongoing discrimination and structural biases (International Labour Organization, 2022[4]).
Many countries have introduced national policies to reduce disparities in earnings between men and women, including concrete measures such as pay transparency (OECD, 2017[5]). Figure A4.2 highlights the general improvement in the gender pay gap for women between 2013 and 2022. However, the extent to which the gender gap has changed varies across countries and educational attainment levels. In the majority of countries, the gender pay gap has narrowed more for adults without an upper secondary qualification. Notably, in Estonia and Lithuania the gender pay gap for adults with below upper secondary attainment has fallen by at least 15 percentage points between 2013 and 2022. In contrast, Denmark and Luxembourg are exceptions where the gender pay gap among adults with below upper secondary attainment has widened over the period, by 1 and 5 percentage points respectively. Among tertiary-educated adults, the gender pay gap improved by no more than 10 percentage points in all countries with available and comparable data. It should be noted that the analysis focuses solely on adults working full-time full-year for better comparability. The findings cannot be generalised to the whole working population, where women are more likely than men to work part time.
Investing in education significantly impacts earning potentials and employment outcomes (see Chapter A3), particularly highlighting disparities between genders. This is a crucial consideration amidst ongoing efforts to address the gender pay gap, which persists due to multifaceted factors. Despite improvements in gender pay equality in some countries, substantial disparities remain overall. Understanding these dynamics is pivotal as countries implement policies aimed at reducing earnings disparities. Box A4.1 explores the financial implications of investing in education and highlights how the decision to attain tertiary education affects individuals' economic outcomes.
Investing time and money in education is an investment in human capital. Better employment prospects (see Chapter A3) and higher earnings are strong incentives for adults to pursue education and postpone employment.
This box provides information on the incentives for an individual to invest in education by considering three measures: private net financial returns, internal rates of return and the benefit-cost ratio. It examines the financial consequences for individuals from investing in tertiary education rather than entering the labour market with an upper secondary qualification. Specifically, benefits to tertiary education are the difference in tertiary-educated workers’ estimated lifetime earnings from employment after paying income taxes and social contributions relative to those of individuals who enter the labour force at the typical age of upper secondary completion. This analysis also accounts for the costs of tertiary education as well as the forgone earnings while completing tertiary education (see Definitions section). It estimates the financial returns on investment in education only up to a theoretical retirement age of 64 and therefore does not take pensions into account (OECD, 2021[6]). Nor does it take into account either student loans or part-time or part-year employment, which may be an over simplification of some countries’ reality. In order to account for the fact that money tomorrow is worth less than money today, this analysis computes the net present value (NPV) of estimated future financial flows. In the results presented below, future financial flows are “discounted” at 2%.
Adults completing a higher level of education benefit from positive financial returns over their working-age life. The gains that individuals can expect to receive over their career exceed the costs they bear during their studies. Investing in tertiary education pays off in the long run for both men and women. On average across the OECD, the private financial returns to tertiary education from a full-time full-year job are USD 343 000 for a man and USD 292 700 for a woman. The private net financial returns to tertiary education are higher for men than for women in most OECD countries: the only countries where women have higher private financial returns than men are Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the Republic of Türkiye. (Figure A4.3). Despite these lower returns, young women are more likely than young men to complete tertiary education (see Chapter A1). This is partially related to the fact that the differences in earnings and employment between upper secondary and tertiary educational attainment are higher for women than they are for men.
The total costs and benefits of attaining tertiary education vary across countries, and there are considerable gender differences. Türkiye has the lowest total costs and benefits for both men and women, while Luxembourg and Switzerland have relatively high costs and benefits for both men and women. Note that figures have been adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) and therefore provide a comparable measure of the financial effort that individuals in different countries must make to finance their education, relative to their ordinary cost of living.
Calculating the financial returns of education implies the choice of a specific discount rate to find the current worth of future financial flows. The choice of the discount rate is challenging, and it makes a considerable difference when analysing the returns to long-term investments, as is the case with investment in education.
Table A4.a shows how the private financial returns for men and women attaining tertiary education change when three different discount rates are used. Changing from a discount rate of 2% (assumed in the analysis above) to a rate of 3.75% reduces the NPV by at least 32% in all countries with available data. If a discount rate of 8% is used, the NPV falls by over 65% in all countries. These comparisons highlight the sensitivity of the NPV results to changes in the discount rate.
Another way to analyse returns to education is through the internal rate of return, which reflects the real interest rate that would equalise the costs and benefits, leading to the investment breaking even. It can be interpreted as the interest rate on the investment made on a higher level of education that an individual can expect to receive every year during their working-age life. It needs to be compared to the cost of money, which corresponds to the discount rate used in the net present value calculations (set to 2% in this analysis). The benefit-cost ratio reflects the financial incentive to invest in education as total benefits relative to total costs, expressed as the financial benefit of attaining an additional level of education for each USD invested in it. Depending on which measure is used, the relative incentives to invest in additional educational attainment differ between men and women. The internal rate of return on tertiary education averages 15% for men across OECD countries and 18% for women. The highest internal rate of return is observed in Ireland with 26% for men and 41% for women (Table A4.5).
Compared with returns to upper secondary education, in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for GDP
See under Chapter A4 Tables for StatLink and Box A4.3 for the notes related to this Table.
Source: OECD/ILO/UIS (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
A key indicator of education-related labour-market inequalities is the proportion of individuals at each attainment level who earn significantly more or less than the median. On average across OECD countries, 28% of workers with below upper secondary attainment earn at or below half the median, compared to 17% of workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary and 10% of tertiary-educated workers. Conversely, just 26% of workers with below upper secondary attainment earn more than the median, while the share reaches 42% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary educational attainment and 69% among workers with a tertiary degree (Table A4.2).
The differences are even greater when looking at the share of workers earning more than twice the median. Across OECD countries, an average of 23% of tertiary-educated workers earn more than twice the median, compared to only 6% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and 3% of those with below upper secondary attainment (Table A4.2).
It is important to consider these figures in light of the attainment levels within the overall population. Countries like Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico have a relatively small proportion of tertiary-educated adults, but a high share of them earn more than twice the median income, suggesting that higher education in these countries is strongly associated with high earnings. Conversely, the same countries also have a large share of workers with lower educational attainment, and a large share of them earn at or below half the median, indicating significant income inequality based on education. On the other hand, countries like Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, show a lower proportion of both tertiary-educated high earners and lower-educated low earners, below 20% in both cases. This suggests these countries have a more equitable income distribution, with the economic benefits of education more evenly spread across the population (Figure A4.4).
The financial benefits associated with greater educational attainment go beyond income from work. Box A4.2 shows a positive correlation between educational attainment and financial security.
Liquid financial assets are important for preventing financial hardship in the event of unexpected emergencies. Figure A4.5 examines the share of adults living in households without sufficient emergency savings, categorised by their educational attainment. Households without sufficient emergency savings are defined as those whose liquid financial assets cannot cover three weeks' loss of income. Because individuals with higher educational attainment typically earn more than their less-educated peers (as discussed above), this figure focuses only on households in the middle quintile of gross income. However, this approach cannot fully rule out the skewing effects of attainment on income, as past income also influences savings, so those with lower attainment are more likely to have had lower incomes in the past, and vice versa.
On average across OECD countries taking part in EU-Household Finance and Consumption Survey (EU-HFCS) 2021, 46% of adults with below upper secondary attainment in middle-income households lack enough savings to cover their living expenses for three weeks. The share falls to 37% among those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and to 22% among tertiary-educated adults. Lithuania is the only country where the likelihood of lacking emergency savings is much more pronounced among those with at least an upper secondary qualification (Figure A4.5).
Foreign-born individuals can face systemic barriers that hinder their economic integration and ability to benefit from their educational qualifications. Foreign-born adults may struggle more than their native-born peers to find employment due to issues such as unrecognised foreign credentials, insufficient skills, language barriers or discrimination. As a result, they are more likely to accept any available job, often leading to lower earnings than their native-born counterparts (OECD, 2023[7]).
There is significant variation but no clear pattern to the differences in earnings between native- and foreign-born adults by educational attainment across countries. Figure A4.6 looks at relative earnings of the foreign-born population by educational level as well as relative earnings for tertiary-educated adults (the most commonly attained level among foreign-born adults, on average), by age of arrival in the host country. In countries such as Latvia and the United States, foreign-born workers with a tertiary education earn slightly more than their native-born counterparts, potentially indicating more successful integration of foreign-born workers in the tertiary labour market and increased recognition of foreign credentials. In countries with a relatively high share of both foreign-born population and tertiary educational attainment among foreign-born adults (see Chapter A1), foreign-born adults with a tertiary education earn up to 10% less than their native-born peers. Finally, in countries like Austria and Spain tertiary-educated foreign-born individuals earn substantially less (at least 15% less) than native-born individuals, highlighting potential barriers to equitable economic opportunities for immigrants despite their high education levels (Figure A4.6).
Relative earnings also differ by the age when foreign-born workers arrived in the host country. This trend is evident for tertiary-educated adults in countries like Canada, New Zealand and Norway, where early arrivals earn close to or more than the earnings of their native-born peers. This pattern underscores the importance of early social and educational integration for economic success, especially regarding the origin of the qualification. (Figure A4.6).
Adults refer to 25-64 year-olds; young adults refer to 25-34 year-olds. The analysis on financial returns to education considers the net present value of earnings over the lifetime of an individual limited to ages 16-64.
The benefit-cost ratio is total benefits relative to total costs, representing the financial benefits of attaining an additional level of education for each USD invested in it.
Country of Birth: Native-born individuals are those who were born in the country where they answered the survey, and foreign-born individuals are those who were born outside the country where they answered the survey.
Direct costs are the direct expenditure on education per student during the time spent in school. Direct costs of education do not include student loans. Private direct costs are the total expenditure by households on education. They include net payments to educational institutions as well as payments for educational goods and services outside of educational institutions (school supplies, tutoring, etc.). Forgone earnings are the net earnings an individual not in education can expect.
Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education successfully completed by an individual.
Emergency savings refer to the liquid financial assets, including deposits, mutual funds, bonds, value of non-self-employment private business, publicly traded shares and managed accounts.
Individuals with zero earnings refer to individuals who have earnings, but the result of their business activities is exactly zero.
Individuals with negative earnings refer to individuals who reported deficits in their business activities.
Gross earnings benefits are the discounted sum of earnings premiums over the course of a working-age life associated with a higher level of education. The income tax effect is the discounted sum of additional levels of income tax paid by the private individual over the course of a working-age life associated with a higher level of education. The social contribution effect is the discounted sum of additional employee social contributions paid by the private individual over the course of a working-age life and associated with a higher level of education.
The internal rate of return is the (hypothetical) real interest rate equalising the costs and benefits related to the educational investment. It can be interpreted as the interest rate an individual can expect to receive every year during a working-age life on the investment made on a higher level of education.
Levels of education: See the Reader’s Guide at the beginning of this publication for a presentation of all International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 levels.
Net financial returns are the net present value of the financial investment in education, the difference between the discounted financial benefits and the discounted financial cost of education, representing the additional value that education produces over and above the 2% real interest that is charged on these cash flows.
The analysis of relative earnings of the population with specific educational attainment and of the distribution of earnings does not control for hours worked, although the number of hours worked is likely to influence earnings in general and the distribution in particular. For the definition of full-time earnings, countries were asked whether they had applied a self-designated full-time status or a threshold value for the typical number of hours worked per week.
Earnings data are based on an annual, monthly or weekly reference period, depending on the country. This chapter presents annual data, and earnings data with a reference period shorter than a year are adjusted. Please refer to Table X3.A4.1 in Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, for more information on the adjustment methods (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en). Data on earnings are before income tax for most countries. Earnings of self-employed people are excluded for many countries and, in general, there is no simple and comparable method to separate earnings from employment and returns to capital invested in a business.
This chapter does not take into consideration the impact of effective income from free government services. Therefore, although incomes could be lower in some countries than in others, the state could be providing both free health care and free schooling, for example. The total average for earnings (men plus women) is not the simple average of the earnings figures for men and women. Instead, it is the average based on earnings of the total population. This overall average weights the average earnings separately for men and women by the share of men and women with different levels of educational attainment.
In the earnings data, individuals with zero and/or negative earnings should be reported as earners. Individuals with negative earnings should also be considered in the calculation of the overall median earnings. However, data on individuals with zero and/or negative earnings are not available for all countries. Individuals with zero earnings are included for Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United States. Individuals with negative earnings are included for Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Refer to the Definitions section for the definition of individuals with zero and negative earnings. Note that the share of both zero and negative earners are very low among full-time full-year workers in countries with available data, and this finding holds true when looking at the breakdown by educational attainment levels. The impact of the inclusion/exclusion of zero and/or negative earners is negligible on the relative earnings and the distribution of earnings.
For more information see the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics (OECD, 2018[8]) and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
In calculating the returns to education in Box A4.1, the approach taken here is the net present value (NPV) of the investment. To allow direct comparisons of costs and benefits, the NPV expresses the present value for cash transfers happening at different times. In this framework, costs and benefits during a working-age life are transferred back to the start of the investment. This is done by discounting all cash flows back to the beginning of the investment with a fixed interest rate (discount rate). The model assumes that tax rates and social contribution rates remain at today's values. Similarly, earnings and employment rates by age and educational attainment are assumed to remain at most recent observed values.
This chapter is based on the data collection on education and earnings by the OECD Labour Market and Social Outcomes of Learning Network (LSO Network). The data collection takes account of earnings for individuals working full-time and full year, as well as part-time or part year, during the reference period. This database contains data on dispersion of earnings from work and on student earnings versus non-student earnings. The source for most countries is national household surveys such as Labour Force Surveys, the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), or other dedicated surveys collecting data on earnings. About one-quarter of countries use data from tax or other registers. See Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, for country-specific notes on national sources (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en). Various sources have been used for Box A4.1 on financial returns to education:
The source for the direct costs of education is the joint data collection by UNESCO, the OECD and Eurostat (UOE) on finance (year of reference 2021 unless otherwise specified in the tables). The data on gross earnings are based on the earnings data collection by the OECD Network on Labour market, economic and social outcomes of learning (LSO Network), which compiles data from national Labour Force Surveys (LFS), the EU Statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC), Structure of Earnings Surveys, and other national registers and surveys. Earnings are age-, gender- and attainment-level specific.
Income tax data are computed using the OECD Taxing Wages model, which determines the level of taxes based on a given level of income. This model computes the level of the tax wedge on income for several household composition scenarios. For this indicator, a single worker with no children is used. For country-specific details on income tax in this model, see Taxing Wages 2024 (OECD, 2024[9]).
Employee social contributions are computed using the OECD Taxing Wages model’s scenario of a single worker aged 40 with no children. For country-specific details on employee social contributions in this model, see Taxing Wages 2024 (OECD, 2024[9]).
The source for Box A4.2 on educational attainment and emergency savings is EU-Household Finance and Consumption Survey (EU-HFCS), fourth wave (2021).
References
[4] International Labour Organization (2022), Global Wage Report 2022–23. The impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power, https://doi.org/10.54394/ZLFG5119.
[9] OECD (2024), Taxing Wages 2024: Tax and Gender through the Lens of the Second Earner, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/dbcbac85-en.
[1] OECD (2023), Education and earnings, http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?datasetcode=EAG_EARNINGS.
[7] OECD (2023), International Migration Outlook 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b0f40584-en.
[3] OECD (2022), “Same skills, different pay: Tackling gender inequalities at firm level”, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/gender/same-skills-different-pay-2022.pdf.
[6] OECD (2021), Education at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b35a14e5-en.
[8] OECD (2018), OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018: Concepts, Standards, Definitions and Classifications, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
[5] OECD (2017), The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264281318-en.
[2] World Economic Forum (2023), Global Gender Gap Report 2023, https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/ (accessed on 5 July 2024).
Cut-off date for the data: 14 June 2024. Any updates on data and more breakdowns can be found on the OECD Data Explorer (http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s).
Adults with income from employment (full-time full-year workers); upper secondary attainment for each age group = 100
Note: See under Chapter A4 Tables for StatLink and Box A4.3 for the notes related to this Table.
Source: OECD (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Median earnings from work for 25-64 year-olds with income from employment (full- and part-time workers) for all levels of educational attainment
Note: See under Chapter A4 Tables for StatLink and Box A4.3 for the notes related to this Table.
Source: OECD (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes( https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Average earnings of adults with income from employment (full-time full-year workers)
Note: See under Chapter A4 Tables for StatLink and Box A4.3for the notes related to this Table.
Source: OECD (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Average earnings of adults with income from employment (full-time full-year workers)
Note: See under Chapter A4 Tables for StatLink and Box A4.3for the notes related to this Table.
Source: OECD (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
As compared with a man or a woman attaining upper secondary education, in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for GDP; future costs and benefits are discounted at a rate of 2%
Note: See under Chapter A4 Tables for StatLink Box A4.3for the notes related to this Table.
Source: OECD/ILO/UIS (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Table A4.1. Relative earnings of workers compared to those with upper secondary attainment, by educational attainment and age group (2022)
Note: There are cross-country differences in the inclusion/exclusion of zero and negative earners. Data on relative earnings for workers with upper secondary attainment are available for consultation on line (see StatLink below). See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2021 for Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Spain and Switzerland; 2019 for France; and 2018 for Greece and Mexico.
2. Index 100 refers to the combined ISCED levels 3 and 4 in the ISCED 2011 classification. See the Reader’s Guide for the list of ISCED levels.
3. Earnings net of income tax for Türkiye and a combination of gross (self-employed) and net (employees) earnings for Argentina.
Table A4.2. Distribution of workers by educational attainment and level of earnings relative to the median (2022)
Note: There are cross-country differences in the inclusion/exclusion of zero and negative earners. For a given level of educational attainment, the figures by level of earnings relative to median earnings may not add up to 100% because of missing data. Data broken down by gender are available for consultation on line (see StatLink). See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2021 for Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Spain and Switzerland; 2019 for France; and 2018 for Greece and Mexico.
2. Earnings net of income tax for Türkiye and a combination of gross (self-employed) and net (employees) earnings for Argentina.
Table A4.3. Women’s earnings as a percentage of men's earnings, by educational attainment and age group (2022)
Note: There are cross-country differences in the inclusion/exclusion of zero and negative earners. See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2021 for Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Spain and Switzerland; 2019 for France; and 2018 for Greece and Mexico.
2. Earnings net of income tax for Türkiye and a combination of gross (self-employed) and net (employees) earnings for Argentina.
Table A4.4. Foreign-born workers' earnings as a percentage of native-born workers' earnings, by educational attainment, age at migration and current age group (2022)
Note: There are cross-country differences in the inclusion/exclusion of zero and negative earners. Data on other age groups are available for consultation on line (see StatLink). See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022: 2021 for Bulgaria, Canada, Israel and Italy; 2019 for Australia, Switzerland and Türkiye.
2. Earnings net of income tax for Türkiye and a combination of gross (self-employed) and net (employees) earnings for Argentina.
Table A4.5. Private costs and benefits for a man and a woman attaining tertiary education (2021)
Note: Values are based on the difference between men who attained tertiary education and those who attained upper secondary education. Values have been rounded up to the nearest hundred. Direct costs to education do not include student loans. Costs and benefits are earned over a working-age life and are transferred back to the start of the investment. Data on direct costs, forgone earnings, gross benefits, income tax and social contributions are available for consultation on line (see StatLink). See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
1. Year of reference 2020.
2. Financial returns to tertiary education compared to upper secondary and post-secondary education combined.
3. Only net earnings are available, and the calculations use these values as if they were gross earnings.
Table A4.a. Net financial returns for a man and a woman attaining tertiary education, by discount rate (2021)
1. Year of reference 2020.
2. Financial returns to tertiary education compared to upper secondary and post-secondary education combined.
3. Only net earnings are available, and the calculations use these values as if they were gross earnings.