- caption
- The salary of the president or prime minister is higher than the average citizen’s, but just how much bigger varies by country.
- source
- Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
- The salary of the president, prime minister, or chancellor varies, but the average pay gap between world leaders and average citizens in some countries is stark.
- IG Group compiled a report on the salary differences between OECD country world leaders and their citizens.
- Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto earns more than ten times the average wage of Mexican citizens, while US President Donald Trump earns at least six times more than the average American.
Some world leaders don’t just take the lead in their country’s affairs – they also take the lead when it comes to the size of their paycheck.
While the salary of the president, prime minister, or chancellor varies across countries, they often make more money than the average citizen of their country. For some, the salary difference is much more drastic than others.
IG Group compiled data on the base pay for world leaders in OECD countries and compared the results to the citizens’ average salary in each leader’s country – and the differences are notable.
Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto earns more than ten times the average wage of Mexican citizens, while Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull earns $527,854 annually – more than any other head of government in the OECD.
This list features formal heads of government, which excludes all monarchs as well as presidents in some countries (Ireland and France, for example). In some countries, the head of state is also considered the head of government (Mexico and the US, for example).
IG Group notes that base pay is used as a generic term for each person’s base salary or other form of publicly funded compensation for their stated role.
Scroll below to see how the average citizen’s paycheck measures up to their government leader for 32 OECD countries, ranked from smallest difference in pay to largest.
32. Miro Cerar — Prime Minister of Slovenia
- source
- Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Population: 2,064,840
Annual base pay: $87,818
Average citizen’s wage: $34,965
31. Mariano Rajoy — Prime Minister of Spain
Population: 46,443,960
Annual base pay: $97,926
Average citizen’s wage: $37,333
30. Māris Kučinskis — Prime Minister of Latvia
- source
- Yves Herman/Reuters
Population: 1,960,420
Annual base pay: $59,644
Average citizen’s wage: $22,389
29. Mateusz Morawiecki — Prime Minister of Poland
- caption
- Mateusz Morawiecki.
- source
- Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Population: 37,948,020
Annual base pay: $57,772
Average citizen’s wage: $25,921
28. António Costa — Prime Minister of Portugal
- caption
- António Costa.
- source
- Pool/Getty Images
Population: 10,324,610
Annual base pay: $72,352
Average citizen’s wage: $24,529
27. Peter Pellegrini — Prime Minister of Slovakia
- caption
- Peter Pellegrini.
- source
- Francois Lenoir/Reuters
Population: 5,428,700
Annual base pay: $70,973
Average citizen’s wage: $23,508
26. Paolo Gentiloni — Prime Minister of Italy
- caption
- Paolo Gentiloni.
- source
- Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Population: 60,600,590
Annual base pay: $109,607
Average citizen’s wage: $35,397
25. Alexis Tsipras — Prime Minister of Greece
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- Alexis Tsipras.
- source
- Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Population: 10,746,740
Annual base pay: $82,405
Average citizen’s wage: $25,124
24. Mark Rutte — Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- caption
- Mark Rutte.
- source
- Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Population: 17,018,410
Annual base pay: $193,844
Average citizen’s wage: $52,833
23. Juha Sipilä — Prime Minister of Finland
- caption
- Juha Sipilä.
- source
- Arno Mikkor/Wikimedia Commons/Attribution
Population: 5,495,100
Annual base pay: $161,498
Average citizen’s wage: $42,127
22. Erna Solberg — Prime Minister of Norway
- caption
- Erna Solberg.
- source
- Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Population: 5,232,930
Annual base pay: $210,714
Average citizen’s wage: $53,643
21. Katrín Jakobsdóttir — Prime Minister of Iceland
- caption
- Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
- source
- Magnus Fröderberg/Wikimedia Commons/Attribution
Population: 334,250
Annual base pay: $242,619
Average citizen’s wage: $55,984
20. Xavier Bettel — Prime Minister of Luxembourg
- caption
- Xavier Bettel.
- source
- Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Population: 582,970
Annual base pay: $278,035
Average citizen’s wage: $62,636
19. Leo Varadkar — Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland
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- Leo Varadkar.
- source
- Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Population: 4,773,100
Annual base pay: $234,447
Average citizen’s wage: $51,681
18. Viktor Orbán — Prime Minister of Hungary
- caption
- Viktor Orbán.
- source
- Laszlo Balogh/Getty Images
Population: 9,817,960
Annual base pay: $99,349
Average citizen’s wage: $21,711
17. Lars Løkke Rasmussen — Prime Minister of Denmark
- caption
- Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
- source
- Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Population: 5,731,120
Annual base pay: $249,774
Average citizen’s wage: $52,580
16. Benjamin Netanyahu — Prime Minister of Israel
- caption
- Benjamin Netanyahu.
- source
- Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Population: 8,547,100
Annual base pay: $168,210
Average citizen’s wage: $34,023
15. Theresa May — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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- Theresa May.
- source
- Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Population: 65,637,240
Annual base pay: $212,247
Average citizen’s wage: $42,835
14. Édouard Philippe — Prime Minister of France
- caption
- Édouard Philippe.
- source
- Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images
Population: 66,896,110
Annual base pay: $220,505
Average citizen’s wage: $42,992
13. Shinzō Abe — Prime Minister of Japan
- caption
- Shinzō Abe.
- source
- Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Population: 126,994,510
Annual base pay: $202,700
Average citizen’s wage: $39,113
12. Justin Trudeau — Prime Minister of Canada
- caption
- Justin Trudeau.
- source
- Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Population: 36,286,430
Annual base pay: $267,041
Average citizen’s wage: $48,403
11. Stefan Löfven — Prime Minister of Sweden
- caption
- Stefan Löfven.
- source
- Michael Campanella/Getty Images
Population: 9,903,120
Annual base pay: $244,615
Average citizen’s wage: $42,816
10. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — President of Turkey
- caption
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
- source
- Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Population: 79,512,430
Annual base pay: $148,626
Average citizen’s wage: $25,655
9. Donald Trump — President of the United States
- caption
- Donald Trump.
- source
- Pool/Getty Images
Population: 323,127,510
Annual base pay: $400,000
Average citizen’s wage: $60,154
8. Sebastián Piñera — President of Chile
- caption
- Sebastián Piñera.
- source
- Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Population: 17,909,750
Annual base pay: $190,466
Average citizen’s wage: $28,434
7. Sebastian Kurz — Chancellor of Austria
- caption
- Sebastian Kurz.
- source
- Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images
Population: 8,747,360
Annual base pay: $328,584
Average citizen’s wage: $48,295
6. Charles Michel — Prime Minister of Belgium
- caption
- Charles Michel.
- source
- Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Population: 11,348,160
Annual base pay: $358,635
Average citizen’s wage: $49,587
5. Angela Merkel — Chancellor of Germany
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- Angela Merkel.
- source
- Adam Berry/Getty Images
Population: 82,667,680
Annual base pay: $369,727
Average citizen’s wage: $46,389
4. Alain Berset — President of Switzerland
- caption
- Alain Berset.
- source
- Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Population: 8,372,100
Annual base pay: $482,958
Average citizen’s wage: $60,124
3. Jacinda Ardern — Prime Minister of New Zealand
- caption
- Jacinda Ardern.
- source
- Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
Population: 4,692,700
Annual base pay: $339,862
Average citizen’s wage: $39,397
2. Malcolm Turnbull — Prime Minister of Australia
- caption
- Malcolm Turnbull.
- source
- Mark Nolan/Getty Images
Population: 24,127,160
Annual base pay: $527,854
Average citizen’s wage: $52,063
1. Enrique Peña Nieto — President of Mexico
- caption
- Enrique Peña Nieto.
- source
- Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Population: 127,540,420
Annual base pay: $166,797
Average citizen’s wage: $15,311