Where are you on the global pay scale?

Selected Highlights

Luxembourg - is the country with the highest national average wage, $4,089
Tajikistan      - is ranked lowest (72nd), average wage $227
Malaysia,      - ranked 45th, has an average monthly wage of $961
Singapore      - is ranked 10th, average wage of $2,616 almost identical with that of Australia's (11th)
The other two ASEAN nations included in the ILO's calculation:
Thailand        - ranked 62nd with average monthly wage of $489
Philippines    - ranked 70th, average monthly wage $279

If you are living in Malaysia, in order for you to be earning an equivalent of Luxembourg's average wage, you need to be drawing a salary of RM8,833.00 a month. Head on over to BBC News Magazine and type in your monthly salary to find out where you are on the global pay scale.

ILO said that the world average wage is $1,480. Do you earn more or less than the world's average wage?

The average wage, calculated by the International Labour Organization (ILO), is published by BBC for the first time. It's a rough figure based on data from 72 countries, omitting some of the world's poorest nations. All figures are adjusted to reflect variations in the cost of living from one country to another, and it's all about wage earners, not the self-employed or people on benefits.

Image: BBC News Magazine

Note: The figures in this histogram are given in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) dollars. One PPP dollar is equal to 1 US dollar spent in the US. In other countries, 1 US dollar can give you more purchasing power than if you are in the US.

E.g. with US10.00 you can buy more food of the same description in Malaysia than if you were to be in the United Kingdom.