Brazil has the second lowest minimum wage among 31 countries, says OECD

Brazil has the second lowest minimum wage in a list of 31 countries made by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), ahead only of Mexico.

The ranking contains data from 2021 about workers’ pay worldwide and comprises OECD member nations, plus Brazil and Russia.

The list traditionally has 32 countries, but this year did not include Japan.

The minimum wage in Brazil is R$1,212 (about US$212), slightly higher than the R$1,100 established in the period considered for the survey last year.

The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, is working on a plan to reformulate the spending cap and curb the growth of expenses that put pressure on the budget, such as social security benefits or those linked to the minimum wage.

With this plan, the minimum wage could become lower without adjustments for inflation.

The survey uses the dollar as the base currency.

Therefore, the salaries are adjusted by purchasing power parity, and it was established that the account considers each country’s inflation.

Brazil has an average minimum wage of US$5.21 per hour, only higher than Mexico, which accumulates US$3.32 per hour.

The country is behind other Latin American countries, such as Chile (US$ 8.3/h) and Colombia (US$ 8.1/h).

Luxembourg comes in first, with an average minimum wage of US$ 27.7 per hour. Rounding out the podium are the Netherlands, with US$ 26.2 per hour, and Australia, with US$ 25.2.