ASEAN in Data / People / Living costs & wages
People / Living costs & wages

Living costs & wages

Earnings, minimum wages, wage employment, and price levels across the SEA-11. Read the insight →
Separate frameworks · mixed vintages

Mean monthly earnings · PPP

PPP conversion aids cross-country comparison; survey coverage and years still differ. Singapore’s source observation is a median and is excluded from the mean bars.

PPP international dollars per month

ILOSTAT · MIXED VINTAGES

SEA-11 · Singapore is regional context, outside the peer five. Regional scales stay fixed when filtering.

Mean monthly earnings · PPP: source, year and as_of by country
CountryPPP international dollars per month
05,000
YearSource & notes
Brunei2,375.6†2014 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. STALE vintage (2014) — badge year heavily. ILO note: Break in series: Methodology revised | BND: Brunei dollar Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 2375.624.

Malaysia1,865.9†2020 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. STALE vintage (2020 Salaries and Wages Survey) — badge year. Full-time equivalents; gross. ILO note: Employment definition: Excluding own-use production workers | Central tendency measure: Mean | Value type: Nominal values | Accounting concept: Gross | Job coverage: Main job currently held | Working time arrangement ... Survey/source: ES - Salaries and Wages Survey

Original CSV value: 1865.889.

Thailand1,574.42025
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: THB: Baht Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 1574.402.

Vietnam1,198.12024
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: VND: Dông Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 1198.144.

Philippines850.92023
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: PHP: Philippine peso Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 850.866.

Cambodia788.02025
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: KHR: Riel Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 788.047.

Laos674.62022
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: Break in series: Methodology revised | LAK: Kip Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 674.632.

Timor-Leste578.2†2021 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: USD: United States dollar Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 578.152.

Indonesia539.92023
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. ILO note: IDR: Indonesian rupiah Survey/source: LFS - National Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 539.882.

Myanmar431.4†2020 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. STALE vintage — badge year. ILO note: MMK: Kyat Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 431.386.

Singapore—Median reported · excluded from mean comparison†2021 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings in PPP international dollars (ILO conversion). Prefer for cross-country earnings comparison vs market-USD. CAUTION: ILO NOTE_INDICATOR flags Central tendency measure: Median for Singapore in EAR_EMTA — this cell is median-reported-as-average; prefer median_* for SGP comparisons. ILO note: Central tendency measure: Median | Value type: Nominal values | Accounting concept: Gross | Job coverage: Main job currently held | Working time arrangement coverage: Full-time workers | SGD: Singapore dollar Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 4419.631.

Philippines highlighted. Bars start at zero; gaps and incompatible median observations have no mean bars. † marks older observations.

Mean monthly earnings · market USD

Market-USD earnings are exchange-rate sensitive. Read alongside PPP earnings, not as a separate purchasing-power ranking. Singapore’s observation is a median.

US$ per month

ILOSTAT · MIXED VINTAGES

SEA-11 · Singapore is regional context, outside the peer five. Regional scales stay fixed when filtering.

Mean monthly earnings · market USD: source, year and as_of by country
CountryUS$ per month
04,000
YearSource & notes
Brunei1,420.2†2014 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. STALE vintage (2014) — badge year heavily. ILO note: Break in series: Methodology revised | BND: Brunei dollar Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 1420.162.

Malaysia697.8†2020 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. STALE vintage (2020 Salaries and Wages Survey) — badge year. Full-time equivalents; gross. ILO note: Employment definition: Excluding own-use production workers | Central tendency measure: Mean | Value type: Nominal values | Accounting concept: Gross | Job coverage: Main job currently held | Working time arrangement ... Survey/source: ES - Salaries and Wages Survey

Original CSV value: 697.755.

Thailand507.82025
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: THB: Baht Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 507.819.

Vietnam355.02024
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: VND: Dông Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 355.043.

Philippines316.52023
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: PHP: Philippine peso Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 316.463.

Cambodia289.22025
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: KHR: Riel Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 289.188.

Timor-Leste257.6†2021 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: USD: United States dollar Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 257.594.

Indonesia182.22023
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: IDR: Indonesian rupiah Survey/source: LFS - National Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 182.242.

Laos178.42022
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. ILO note: Break in series: Methodology revised | LAK: Kip Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 178.408.

Myanmar136.0†2020 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. STALE vintage — badge year. ILO note: MMK: Kyat Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 135.98.

Singapore—Median reported · excluded from mean comparison†2021 · OLDER
Observation notes

Average monthly earnings of employees (both sexes). ILO USD conversion. Mixed survey sources/vintages — badge year. Do not mix with LCU without PPP. CAUTION: ILO NOTE_INDICATOR flags Central tendency measure: Median for Singapore in EAR_EMTA — this cell is median-reported-as-average; prefer median_* for SGP comparisons. ILO note: Central tendency measure: Median | Value type: Nominal values | Accounting concept: Gross | Job coverage: Main job currently held | Working time arrangement coverage: Full-time workers | SGD: Singapore dollar Survey/source: LFS - Labour Force Survey

Original CSV value: 3483.482.

Philippines highlighted. Bars start at zero; gaps and incompatible median observations have no mean bars. † marks older observations.

Statutory minimum wage

PH uses the lowest provincial non-agricultural rate, not a national average floor or the NCR rate. Indonesia uses a mean of regions; Malaysia a national floor. These are not average earnings or living wages.

US$ per month · definitions differ

ILOSTAT · MIXED VINTAGES

SEA-11 · Singapore is regional context, outside the peer five. Regional scales stay fixed when filtering.

Statutory minimum wage: source, year and as_of by country
CountryUS$ per month · definitions differ
0400
YearSource & notes
Malaysia327.82024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. ILO note: MYR: Ringgit Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 327.767.

Indonesia319.62024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. Type: mean of regional minimum wages (ILO note). ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Regional | Central tendency measure: Median | IDR: Indonesian rupiah Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 319.599.

Thailand254.02024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. Regional / provincial structure — badge year. ILO note: Central tendency measure: Median | ILO calculation: Daily figure multiplied by 6 days and 4.33 weeks | THB: Baht Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 253.956.

Vietnam205.32024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. Regional / provincial structure — badge year. ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Regional | Central tendency measure: Median | VND: Dông Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 205.257.

PhilippinesLowest provincial non-ag floor · not national average144.92024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. Type: regional — lowest provincial non-agriculture rate (not NCR). ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Regional (lowest provincial rate in non-agriculture) | ILO calculation: Daily figure multiplied by 6 days and 4.33 weeks | PHP: Philippine peso Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 144.91.

Timor-Leste115.02024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Singular national minimum wage | USD: United States dollar Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 115.0.

Myanmar90.3†2020 · OLDER
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. FX/year may lag LCU vintage — badge year carefully. ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Singular national minimum wage | ILO calculation: Daily figure multiplied by 6 days and 4.33 weeks | MMK: Kyat Survey/source: ADM - Legislation du Travail

Original CSV value: 90.329.

Laos79.32024
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Singular national minimum wage | LAK: Kip Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: 79.336.

Brunei—GAP · not zero—
ILOSTAT EAR_INEE_CUR_NB (monthly minimum wage, USD) · year not available · as_of 2026-09-07
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. GAP: no national statutory minimum wage series in ILO EAR_INEE for this economy (sectoral / PWM / no national floor).

Original CSV value: not supplied.

Cambodia—GAP · not zero—
ILOSTAT EAR_INEE_CUR_NB (monthly minimum wage, USD) · year not available · as_of 2026-09-07
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. GAP: ILO EAR_INEE reports LCU=200 labeled KHR with USD≈0.05 — inconsistent with known USD-denominated garment MW; not inventable. Leave empty. ILO note: Type of minimum wage: Singular national minimum wage | KHR: Riel Survey/source: ADM - Labour legislation

Original CSV value: not supplied.

Singapore—GAP · not zero—
ILOSTAT EAR_INEE_CUR_NB (monthly minimum wage, USD) · year not available · as_of 2026-09-07
Observation notes

Statutory monthly minimum wage (ILO labour legislation). Definitions differ: national vs regional lowest vs mean of regions — badge year and read notes. Not a living-wage measure. GAP: no national statutory minimum wage series in ILO EAR_INEE for this economy (sectoral / PWM / no national floor).

Original CSV value: not supplied.

Philippines highlighted. Bars start at zero; gaps and incompatible median observations have no mean bars. † marks older observations.

Wage and salaried employment

The share in paid employment describes workforce structure, not pay levels or job quality.

% of employment

MODELLED ILO / WDI · 2025

SEA-11 · Singapore is regional context, outside the peer five. Regional scales stay fixed when filtering.

Wage and salaried employment: source, year and as_of by country
Country% of employment
0100
YearSource & notes
Brunei92.72025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 92.7288227406335.

Singapore87.32025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 87.3081691347727.

Malaysia74.62025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 74.6297938564831.

Philippines63.92025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 63.851555566824.

Thailand49.32025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 49.3021361816281.

Indonesia46.72025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 46.6629982496219.

Vietnam46.72025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 46.6532145494782.

Cambodia44.52025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 44.4817040325265.

Myanmar34.52025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 34.5271985106049.

Timor-Leste25.12025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 25.1407573472857.

Laos22.92025
Observation notes

Wage and salaried workers as % of employment — share of workforce in paid employment (context for earnings coverage). Modeled ILO estimate.

Original CSV value: 22.859277515258.

Philippines highlighted. Bars start at zero; gaps and incompatible median observations have no mean bars. † marks older observations.

GDP price level index

GDP price levels are separate from earnings and household budgets. Singapore is a regional price-level ceiling, not evidence about wages. No combined affordability score is calculated.

Index · USA = 100

WDI / ICP · 2025

SEA-11 · Singapore is regional context, outside the peer five. Regional scales stay fixed when filtering.

GDP price level index: source, year and as_of by country
CountryIndex · USA = 100
0100
YearSource & notes
SingaporePrice-level ceiling · not a wage story60.52025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 60.4907040592763.

Brunei34.92025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 34.8746819760203.

Cambodia33.62025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 33.6243860901355.

Philippines33.22025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 33.1615478156275.

Malaysia31.62025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 31.6272069254567.

Thailand30.72025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 30.6915862459941.

Indonesia28.72025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 28.6505408846687.

Vietnam28.02025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 28.006707439266.

Timor-Leste27.92025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 27.8816251223677.

Myanmar24.82025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 24.7669737886297.

Laos22.42025
Observation notes

GDP price level index relative to the United States (=100). Higher = more expensive basket vs US. Living-cost / price-level panel — never mash with wage ranks.

Original CSV value: 22.3900966848845.

Philippines highlighted. Bars start at zero; gaps and incompatible median observations have no mean bars. † marks older observations.

Housing price-to-income: coverage gap

No comparable housing price-to-income ratio is locked for any of the SEA-11. All eleven observations are empty. Numbeo is out of scope; national house-price indices and city-only ratios are not substitutes for a comparable regional series.

Source: pack coverage review · no comparable series locked · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-07

Key findings from this pack

  • PH mean PPP earnings exceed Indonesia’s but trail Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia’s older observation.
  • The Philippine minimum is the lowest provincial non-agricultural floor, not a national average.
  • Employment shares and price levels describe different concepts from earnings.
  • Housing price-to-income is a gap across all eleven countries; Singapore’s earnings observation is a median.

Methods & coverage

Earnings definitions and years

Mean monthly employee earnings use ILOSTAT PPP and USD conversions in separate panels. Neither is a household-income measure. Brunei’s 2014, Malaysia’s 2020, Myanmar’s 2020 and Timor-Leste’s 2021 observations are older and remain labelled. Singapore’s EAR_EMTA observation is explicitly a median: it is excluded from mean bars and retained in the CSV and country profile with a median label. Malaysia’s median earnings are missing. No local-currency wage is ranked across countries.

Minimum-wage definitions

The Philippine observation is the lowest provincial non-agricultural rate, not a national average floor or the NCR wage. ILO converts its daily figure using six days and 4.33 weeks. Indonesia’s mean of regional rates and Malaysia’s national floor measure different regulatory concepts. Minimum wages are not take-home pay, average earnings or living wages. Brunei and Singapore lack a national statutory series; Cambodia is withheld because the ILO currency label and conversion are inconsistent. Myanmar’s USD minimum retains its older 2020 year.

Workforce structure and prices

Wage-salaried employment uses modelled ILO/WDI 2025 and describes employment structure. WDI PA.NUS.GDP.PLI measures the GDP price level relative to the USA (=100); the PPP conversion factor in the download has a different unit, LCU per international dollar. Singapore’s high PLI is price context, not a wage claim. These panels are not combined into an affordability ranking.

Original gaps & definition notes · Pack definitions · Research brief

Use this research

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ASEAN in Data (2026). Living costs & wages. /topics/living-costs-wages