A new interactive calculator, developed by the financial experts at online money transfer service Remitly, has revealed Brits could earn the average UK wage up to 15 weeks sooner in thirteen different countries.
With the average Brit earning around £45,688 a year and working an average of 1,524 hours to earn this, according to the OECD’s mean salary data, it is worth considering where you could get paid more for the hours you work, and how the cost of living compares.
The average Luxembourger could work 480 fewer hours in a year to earn the average UK salary, the analysis shows. That is equivalent to 64 working days of 7.5 hours.
In Iceland, the average worker only needs to work 125 days to earn a UK resident’s annual salary. It is similar in Norway (151 days), Denmark (153 days), Sweden (190 days).
However, the cost of living in Luxembourg is around 14% higher than in the UK, meaning that although you will work the equivalent of 64 days less for your money, it will not stretch as far as it does in the UK. The same is true for Iceland, which is 41.5% higher than in Britain, as well as Norway at 21% higher, and Denmark at 13.6% higher.
There are other countries where you could work fewer days while simultaneously enjoying a lower cost of living.
The average German could work 46 fewer days a year to match the average pay for a Brit, and the cost of living in the country is around 1% lower than in the UK.
The same can be said for Australians, who could work just under three weeks less than Brits to earn their average salary while their living costs are around 0.4% lower.
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