As representatives of nations, world leaders generally earn more than the average consumer. On an international scale, the annual salary of a politician is roughly six times higher than that of the country’s citizens. This is the result of an analysis done by job aggregator Adzuna, which compared annual salaries of state representatives across 45 nations with the average income of the population.
After comparing the annual salaries of 45 international leaders, Adzuna concluded that the president of South Africa earns 19 times more than the average South African citizen. In Germany, the Chancellor earns seven times more than the average German. Singapore tops the list, with Lee Hsien Loong taking home an average salary of R11-million per year.
Big pay gap in South Africa and Singapore
South Africa took the crown in terms of income disparity, with president Cyril Ramaphosa earning an annual salary of around ~R1,7M per year. Taking into account that the average South African earns about R91,106 per year, the president earns 19 times more than South African citizens. Overall, South Africa has a very high income inequality, measured by a Gini coefficient of 0.62.
In Singapore, there is a similar situation with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long earning R11-million annually, 18 times more than locals, who bring home roughly R630,427 per year.
India, Russia and Australia share third place in the rankings. Leaders in these nations earn 11 times the income of the local population. Honduras follows in fourth place, with President Hernández earning R298,327 per year. That’s nine times more than the average citizen, who earns just R32,164 per year.
Germany comes in in 12th place
Germany ranks 12th in the income comparison across 45 nations and populations. With an annual salary of about R2,681,731, the German Chancellor earns seven times more than the average German citizen. The income per capita in Germany stands at an average of R359,842, making the salary difference in the Federal Republic only slightly above the international average of six times the salary.
China and Vietnam on par with the population
The last place in the survey ranking is shared by China and Vietnam, with both nations’ deputies earning almost as much as local citizens. While China’s President Xi Jinping earns roughly R137,504, the average employee in China earns R116,597. In Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc makes R60,308, with the average citizen earning R45,030.
Highest paid politicians across the world
When compared to the annual salaries of other politicians and world leaders, Singapore’s Prime Minister tops the rankings with R11-million. Second place goes to Australia’s Scott Morrison, who earns R3,664,362 per year. In third place is the Swiss Federal President, Alain Berset, who takes home R3,147,315 per year.
Resources
To compile the report, Adzuna researched the latest media reports on average salaries of the respective politicians. These average salaries were then compared with the information of the Wage Indicator Foundation and converted into Rand on 17 October 2018. For the average income of the population, the World Bank’s data on gross national income per capita (as at 2017) were used and calculated in and on 17 October 2018.
Provided by Adzuna
