Living Wages

Across the world, millions lack access to fair compensation

Earning a fair wage in pursuit of a decent life is a fundamental human right. Despite this, in 2021 the UN estimated that approximately 689 million people, or 9% of the world’s population, lived below the international poverty line. They earn less than $2 per day (adjusted for purchasing power parity), making their wages much below the cost of living. Therefore, they cannot afford basic necessities for themselves and their families.

Governments world-over try to remedy this by instituting Minimum Wage rates below which workers cannot be paid. Despite their good intentions, these Minimum Wage Rates are often also below the cost of living. Our data shows that as of January 2024, only in 19 countries do the lowest applicable Minimum Wages equal or exceed the cost of living.  To sum up: in 165 countries: out of 2102 regions, 339 regions have a higher Minimum Wages than the Living Wage.

Living Wage payment ensures that people can lead a decent life

To enable people lead lives of dignity, WageIndicator advocates for the payment of Living Wages.

What is a Living Wage? Simply put, it is that level of remuneration that allows a person and their family to afford all necessities, pay required taxes, and save for emergencies.

WageIndicator has created the largest global Living Wage database. This currently covers 165 countries. Because cost of living varies within countries, we calculate Living Wages for 2621 regions across these 165 countries, incorporating costs of all households necessities like:

  • food,
  • drinking water,
  • housing & energy
  • transport,
  • phone,
  • clothes,
  • healthcare,
  • education,
  • emergency expenses,
  • mandatory contributions and taxes.

WageIndicator calculates these expenses for 'standard households' and 'typical households'. Standard households consist of two working adults (one works 100% of the total hours allowed, while the second works 80%) and two children. Typical households comprise two adults (one works 100% of the total hours allowed, while hours for the other are based on the employment rate of that country) and where the number of children is determined by the country’s fertility rate.

To calculate Living Wages, a basket of region-specific goods is designed and their cost calculated through face-face surveys, web-shops and a combination of face-to-face surveys and webshops. Per quarter over 260 data collectors across the world conduct these surveys. Their data collections are used to update the database every quarter, ensuring that our Living Wage rates are up to date.

Want to know more about our methodology? You can read all about it in our Living Wage methodology publication, or get in touch with our team.

cost-living-china.jpg

One of WageIndicator's data collectors surveying residents of a Chinese city

WageIndicator supports global organisations in their pursuit of fair compensation

Living Wage payments create a virtuous cycle that benefits all parties involved. Most obviously, workers can meet the cost of living. This affords a decent and secure life for themselves and their families. Increased purchasing power allows them to consume more, creating larger markets for goods and services.

Businesses also benefit from improved employee satisfaction, increasing productivity and retention. Subsequently, recruitment, training, and dispute resolution costs decrease. Cumulatively, this creates resilient and stable supply chains.

In a world where consumers increasingly seek out ethical companies, Living Wage payment also helps corporations fulfil their Environmental, Sustainable, and Governance (ESG) obligations. It is linked to achieving 8 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals; most directly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reducing Inequality).Check out this map about legislation in relation to Living Wages.

"WageIndicator helps us to achieve our goal of paying a Living Wage to our employees across more than 100 countries by 2023." - Andreza Boccardo Souza, Sustainability Manager, Natura

The WageIndicator Foundation has been working with several multinational corporations since 2018. It supplies them with customised datasets that they can use to determine wage rates across their supply chain. WageIndicator also actively works with organisations to assist their implementation Living Wages throughout their operations, helping their workers afford the cost of living.

Next to working with companies, WageIndicator's Living Wage data also actively supports advocacy campaigns and NGOs to advocate for and advance the payment of Living Wages in sectors such as the garment and footwear sector.

WageIndicator’s Living Wage database is recognised by IDH (the Sustainable Trade Initiative) as well as by B-Lab in their B-Corp Certification process.

Report: Living Wage - An Emerging Standard

What role do Living Wages play in creating a sustainable business? Do business leaders think that Living Wages are important? What are the challenges they face in implementing Living Wages across their operations?

Find the answers to these and more questions in our latest publication, Living Wage: An Emerging Standard, co-authored with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Check Out WageIndicator's Newsletters on Gig Work

Loading...