Which country takes the least from a salary?

Of the 27 here, Thailand — it leaves $90,352 of $100,000 of real income, against $60,321 in Italy at the other end. Both figures count income tax and every compulsory employee contribution.

Why not just compare income tax rates?

Because in most countries the income tax is the smaller deduction. Social insurance takes around a fifth of gross pay in Germany, 20% in Singapore through the CPF, and in Japan the local inhabitant tax alone is comparable to the national income tax. In 245 of these 351 pairs, comparing income tax alone points at the wrong country.

Why international dollars rather than euros or dollars?

An exchange rate measures what money is worth if you take it elsewhere. A salary is spent where it is earned, so the right conversion is purchasing power parity — the World Bank's factor for household consumption, which prices a comparable basket in each country.

Does this tell me which country is better to live in?

No, and that refusal is deliberate. These pages measure what a salary leaves you after everything compulsory. What the tax buys back — healthcare, education, pensions, unemployment cover — is the other half, and no dataset prices it. The only measured piece included is out-of-pocket health spending per person.

Are social contributions really included?

Yes, for all 27 countries, and getting there meant fixing this site's own country pages first: they used to show income tax alone and call the remainder take-home. Every contribution now comes from the body that collects it, with its ceiling, its floor and the date the document was read.

What about a couple, or children?

Every figure is a single filer with no children on the main regional scale. That is the case that can be stated identically in all 27 countries. Joint assessment, family quotients and child credits change the answer and in some pairs reverse it.

2026 · 351 pairs · 27 countries

What you keep, and what nobody can price

Every comparison between two countries you can find online answers with the income tax rate. On a payslip that is routinely the smaller of the two deductions — in Germany social insurance takes about a fifth of gross, in Singapore the CPF a fifth again, in Japan the local inhabitant tax as much as the national one. These 351 pages count all of it, in a unit that lets two currencies be compared, and then say plainly what they cannot tell you.

Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz QuinteroSources checked September 1, 2026Tax and contribution rates from each country's own authority; price levels from the World Bank, 2025

First the unit, because without it none of the numbers mean anything

Comparing "€60,000 in Spain" with "£60,000 in the United Kingdom" at the exchange rate measures something nobody needs: what that money would be worth if you carried it abroad. What you want to know is what it buys where you earn it.

So every page here works in international dollars. A salary is stated as real income, converted into each local currency with the World Bank's purchasing power parity factor for household consumption, taxed under that country's own system, and converted back. $100,000 of real income is a very different number in each of these 27 countries — and the same shopping basket in all of them.

That is also why the price level appears on every page. Where the United States is 100, the 27 countries here run from 22.6 to 128.2. Ignoring that is comparing two currencies at face value.

Then the deduction that comparisons leave out, which is usually the larger one

The income tax rate is the figure governments publish and newspapers repeat. It is not what comes off a payslip.

In 245 of these 351 pairs, the income tax alone points at the wrong country. One country charges less tax and more social insurance, or caps its contributions where the other does not, and the ranking reverses once everything compulsory is counted.

Getting that right meant rebuilding the engine behind these pages country by country. Germany's social insurance is about a fifth of gross; Singapore's CPF is 20%; Japan's local inhabitant tax is comparable to the national income tax; Switzerland's cantonal and communal tax is two or three times the federal one. Every one of those was missing from this site's own country pages until it was fixed, and each figure now comes from the authority that sets it, with the date it was read.

What that means for a reader: the number on these pages is gross minus income tax minus every compulsory employee contribution. Not a headline rate, and not an "effective rate" that quietly excludes social insurance.

What $100,000 of real income leaves you, by country

Country	Keeps	Behind the first	Taken	Prices
1Thailand	$90,352	first	9.6%	32.3
2India	$89,256	−$1,096	10.7%	22.7
3Hong Kong	$87,804	−$2,548	12.2%	74
4Pakistan	$80,410	−$9,942	19.6%	23.4
5Philippines	$77,798	−$12,555	22.2%	35.7
6Singapore	$77,729	−$12,623	22.3%	78.3
7Malaysia	$76,824	−$13,529	23.2%	33.4
8Switzerland	$76,477	−$13,875	23.5%	128.2
9Malta	$75,636	−$14,717	24.4%	69
10South Africa	$74,158	−$16,194	25.8%	43.3
11Australia	$73,925	−$16,427	26.1%	94.8
12United Kingdom	$73,049	−$17,303	27.0%	92.4
13Jamaica	$72,545	−$17,808	27.5%	61.7
14Canada	$72,437	−$17,916	27.6%	90.2
15Japan	$72,399	−$17,954	27.6%	69
16New Zealand	$71,870	−$18,482	28.1%	89.8
17Spain	$68,934	−$21,419	31.1%	68.7
18France	$68,850	−$21,503	31.2%	82.8
19Netherlands	$68,265	−$22,088	31.7%	86.7
20Ireland	$66,201	−$24,151	33.8%	102.1
21Luxembourg	$65,278	−$25,075	34.7%	98.6
22Austria	$65,246	−$25,106	34.8%	84.8
23Portugal	$63,994	−$26,358	36.0%	64.9
24Sweden	$62,087	−$28,265	37.9%	90.5
25Ethiopia	$61,361	−$28,991	38.6%	22.6
26Germany	$61,065	−$29,287	38.9%	81.2
27Italy	$60,321	−$30,031	39.7%	72.9

The same real income in every row, converted to each currency at the World Bank purchasing power parity factor, taxed under that country’s own system including compulsory contributions, and converted back. “Taken” is everything compulsory as a share of gross; “prices” is the household price level where the United States is 100. This ranks what you keep, not what the tax buys back.

And the half of the question this site refuses to guess at

Everything above measures what leaves your pay. It says nothing about what comes back, and between two countries that is not a detail.

In one country the tax bill includes healthcare, university and a pension you can live on. In another it does not, and the household buys those out of the money the table says it kept. A comparison that declares a winner on take-home alone is doing the same trick as a comparison of top tax rates — the thing this site exists to argue against.

We looked for a dataset that prices what a tax system gives back and there is not one. So no page here calls a country better, only cheaper on what it takes.

The one measured piece goes on every page: out-of-pocket health spending per person, 2023, which is what households pay directly after whatever the public system covers. It runs from $40 to $2,335 across these countries. It is not published for Hong Kong, and there it is left blank rather than estimated.

The fifteen pairs where the choice of country matters most

On $100,000 of real income, single filer, everything compulsory counted:

Italy vs Thailand — Thailand by $30,031 a year. Effective rates 39.7% and 9.6%.

Germany vs Thailand — Thailand by $29,287 a year. Effective rates 38.9% and 9.6%.

Ethiopia vs Thailand — Thailand by $28,991 a year. Effective rates 38.6% and 9.6%.

India vs Italy — India by $28,935 a year. Effective rates 10.7% and 39.7%.

Sweden vs Thailand — Thailand by $28,265 a year. Effective rates 37.9% and 9.6%.

Germany vs India — India by $28,191 a year. Effective rates 38.9% and 10.7%.

Ethiopia vs India — India by $27,895 a year. Effective rates 38.6% and 10.7%.

Hong Kong vs Italy — Hong Kong by $27,483 a year. Effective rates 12.2% and 39.7%.

India vs Sweden — India by $27,169 a year. Effective rates 10.7% and 37.9%.

Germany vs Hong Kong — Hong Kong by $26,740 a year. Effective rates 38.9% and 12.2%.

Ethiopia vs Hong Kong — Hong Kong by $26,444 a year. Effective rates 38.6% and 12.2%.

Portugal vs Thailand — Thailand by $26,358 a year. Effective rates 36.0% and 9.6%.

Hong Kong vs Sweden — Hong Kong by $25,717 a year. Effective rates 12.2% and 37.9%.

India vs Portugal — India by $25,262 a year. Effective rates 10.7% and 36.0%.

Austria vs Thailand — Thailand by $25,106 a year. Effective rates 34.8% and 9.6%.

Start from the country you are in

Each of these resolves all 26 destinations at once and ranks them, so the best and worst are on one page instead of 26 tabs. Ordered by what a common real income leaves you:

Thailand vs every country — keeps $90,352 of $100,000, 9.6% taken, prices at 32.3.

India vs every country — keeps $89,256 of $100,000, 10.7% taken, prices at 22.7.

Hong Kong vs every country — keeps $87,804 of $100,000, 12.2% taken, prices at 74.

Pakistan vs every country — keeps $80,410 of $100,000, 19.6% taken, prices at 23.4.

Philippines vs every country — keeps $77,798 of $100,000, 22.2% taken, prices at 35.7.

Singapore vs every country — keeps $77,729 of $100,000, 22.3% taken, prices at 78.3.

Malaysia vs every country — keeps $76,824 of $100,000, 23.2% taken, prices at 33.4.

Switzerland vs every country — keeps $76,477 of $100,000, 23.5% taken, prices at 128.2.

Malta vs every country — keeps $75,636 of $100,000, 24.4% taken, prices at 69.

South Africa vs every country — keeps $74,158 of $100,000, 25.8% taken, prices at 43.3.

Australia vs every country — keeps $73,925 of $100,000, 26.1% taken, prices at 94.8.

United Kingdom vs every country — keeps $73,049 of $100,000, 27.0% taken, prices at 92.4.

Jamaica vs every country — keeps $72,545 of $100,000, 27.5% taken, prices at 61.7.

Canada vs every country — keeps $72,437 of $100,000, 27.6% taken, prices at 90.2.

Japan vs every country — keeps $72,399 of $100,000, 27.6% taken, prices at 69.

New Zealand vs every country — keeps $71,870 of $100,000, 28.1% taken, prices at 89.8.

Spain vs every country — keeps $68,934 of $100,000, 31.1% taken, prices at 68.7.

France vs every country — keeps $68,850 of $100,000, 31.2% taken, prices at 82.8.

Netherlands vs every country — keeps $68,265 of $100,000, 31.7% taken, prices at 86.7.

Ireland vs every country — keeps $66,201 of $100,000, 33.8% taken, prices at 102.1.

Luxembourg vs every country — keeps $65,278 of $100,000, 34.7% taken, prices at 98.6.

Austria vs every country — keeps $65,246 of $100,000, 34.8% taken, prices at 84.8.

Portugal vs every country — keeps $63,994 of $100,000, 36.0% taken, prices at 64.9.

Sweden vs every country — keeps $62,087 of $100,000, 37.9% taken, prices at 90.5.

Ethiopia vs every country — keeps $61,361 of $100,000, 38.6% taken, prices at 22.6.

Germany vs every country — keeps $61,065 of $100,000, 38.9% taken, prices at 81.2.

Italy vs every country — keeps $60,321 of $100,000, 39.7% taken, prices at 72.9.

Thailand keeps the most and Italy the least, a spread of $30,031 on identical real pay — before a single word about what either buys with it.

Sources and limits

The conversion and the price levels:

World Bank, International Comparison Program — PPP conversion factor, household final consumption expenditure (LCU per international $), 2025 — read 2026-09-11. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PRVT.PP

World Bank — Price level ratio of PPP conversion factor to market exchange rate, 2025 (United States = 100) — read 2026-09-11. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP.03.CD

World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure Database, via World Bank — Out-of-pocket health expenditure per capita, PPP, 2023 — read 2026-09-11. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.OOPC.PP.CD

Tax scales come from each country's own revenue authority and contribution rates from the body that collects them — 27 countries, each cited on its own pages with the date the document was read.

What none of these comparisons model: the year you move and which country taxes you while you cross; households other than a single filer; regional scales other than the main one, except where a reference is named; and voluntary deductions of every kind.

And the one that matters most, once more: what the tax buys.

Where to go next

International calculatorsAll 27 systems, one country at a time.Compare two US statesThe same method where the currency is already shared.Compare two citiesOne level down, where the tax code cancels entirely.How this is calculatedSources, assumptions, and what the figures refuse to claim.

Questions

Which country takes the least from a salary?: Of the 27 here, Thailand — it leaves $90,352 of $100,000 of real income, against $60,321 in Italy at the other end. Both figures count income tax and every compulsory employee contribution.
Why not just compare income tax rates?: Because in most countries the income tax is the smaller deduction. Social insurance takes around a fifth of gross pay in Germany, 20% in Singapore through the CPF, and in Japan the local inhabitant tax alone is comparable to the national income tax. In 245 of these 351 pairs, comparing income tax alone points at the wrong country.
Why international dollars rather than euros or dollars?: An exchange rate measures what money is worth if you take it elsewhere. A salary is spent where it is earned, so the right conversion is purchasing power parity — the World Bank's factor for household consumption, which prices a comparable basket in each country.
Does this tell me which country is better to live in?: No, and that refusal is deliberate. These pages measure what a salary leaves you after everything compulsory. What the tax buys back — healthcare, education, pensions, unemployment cover — is the other half, and no dataset prices it. The only measured piece included is out-of-pocket health spending per person.
Are social contributions really included?: Yes, for all 27 countries, and getting there meant fixing this site's own country pages first: they used to show income tax alone and call the remainder take-home. Every contribution now comes from the body that collects it, with its ceiling, its floor and the date the document was read.
What about a couple, or children?: Every figure is a single filer with no children on the main regional scale. That is the case that can be stated identically in all 27 countries. Joint assessment, family quotients and child credits change the answer and in some pairs reverse it.