Expats tend to look at the size of their wage packets rather than what’s left once tax and living costs are taken out.
Sometimes this can end in a big surprise as that tax free salary does not go as far as many expats would believe once housing costs, private health and day to day living costs are factored in.
Now, looking at some financial and lifestyle facts and figures on web site Nationmaster can prepare expats for the unexpected.
The table below is one of dozens on the site covering information from GDP to crime.
Money in the bank
This table compares the average monthly disposable income for different countries, which is the money left in the bank after taxes are paid.
If you are using the table to work out whether an employer is offering a good salary, do not forget that the figures can vary widely in some countries.
In the US capital, Washington DC, monthly disposable incomes average £3,730, while in the state of Mississippi; the average is only £1,813.
The data was collected over four years by researchers for Numbeo, a statistics website, and then adapted by Nationmaster.
| Countries Compared: Average Monthly Disposable Salary After Tax | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Disposalable income | Year |
| 1 | Switzerland | £4,313.53 | 2014 |
| 2 | Luxembourg | £3,066.42 | 2014 |
| 3 | Zambia | £2,964.56 | 2014 |
| 4 | Jersey | £2,959.26 | 2014 |
| 5 | Bermuda | £2,909.13 | 2014 |
| 6 | Norway | £2,885.46 | 2014 |
| 7 | Monaco | £2,835.73 | 2013 |
| 8 | Qatar | £2,764.07 | 2014 |
| 9 | Gibraltar | £2,731.63 | 2014 |
| 10 | Australia | £2,587.88 | 2014 |
| 11 | Cayman Islands | £2,267.76 | 2014 |
| 12 | Denmark | £2,238.05 | 2014 |
| 13 | United States | £2,230.68 | 2014 |
| 14 | British Virgin Islands | £2,190.40 | 2014 |
| 15 | Sweden | £2,177.47 | 2014 |
| 16 | United Arab Emirates | £2,109.18 | 2014 |
| 17 | The Bahamas | £2,070.61 | 2014 |
| 18 | Ireland | £2,047.48 | 2014 |
| 19 | United Kingdom | £2,026.49 | 2014 |
| 20 | Netherlands | £2,010.77 | 2014 |
| 21 | Finland | £2,001.55 | 2014 |
| 22 | Germany | £1,952.09 | 2014 |
| 23 | Aruba | £1,939.41 | 2014 |
| 24 | Japan | £1,904.57 | 2014 |
| 25 | Canada | £1,898.46 | 2014 |
| 26 | France | £1,890.58 | 2014 |
| 27 | Singapore | £1,888.80 | 2014 |
| 28 | Guam | £1,882.38 | 2013 |
| 29 | Greenland | £1,878.84 | 2013 |
| 30 | Andorra | £1,869.45 | 2014 |
| 31 | New Zealand | £1,843.39 | 2014 |
| 32 | Angola | £1,813.95 | 2014 |
| 33 | Belgium | £1,755.67 | 2014 |
| 34 | Hong Kong | £1,708.42 | 2014 |
| 35 | Guernsey | £1,708.12 | 2014 |
| 36 | Faroe Islands | £1,690.96 | 2014 |
| 37 | Austria | £1,682.04 | 2014 |
| 38 | New Caledonia | £1,660.13 | 2013 |
| 39 | Kuwait | £1,531.03 | 2014 |
| 40 | Brunei | £1,525.21 | 2014 |
| 41 | Iceland | £1,489.57 | 2014 |
| 42 | South Korea | £1,488.35 | 2014 |
| 43 | Italy | £1,449.61 | 2014 |
| 44 | Oman | £1,428.65 | 2014 |
| 45 | Reunion | £1,308.61 | 2014 |
| 46 | Israel | £1,283.18 | 2014 |
| 47 | Saudi Arabia | £1,222.56 | 2014 |
| 48 | Gabon | £1,166.47 | 2014 |
| 49 | Puerto Rico | £1,166.06 | 2014 |
| 50 | Spain | £1,119.26 | 2014 |
| 51 | Barbados | £1,112.31 | 2014 |
| 52 | Cyprus | £1,108.10 | 2014 |
| 53 | Malta | £1,069.33 | 2014 |
| 54 | French Polynesia | £1,028.20 | 2013 |
| 55 | Belize | £986.36 | 2014 |
| 56 | South Africa | £958.31 | 2014 |
| 57 | Mauritius | £915.68 | 2014 |
| 58 | Taiwan | £894.94 | 2014 |
| 59 | Slovenia | £873.19 | 2014 |
| 60 | Grenada | £855.63 | 2014 |
| 61 | Bahrain | £839.74 | 2014 |
| 62 | Curacao | £754.20 | 2013 |
| 63 | Malawi | £752.26 | 2013 |
| 64 | Equatorial Guinea | £744.39 | 2013 |
| 65 | Portugal | £740.44 | 2014 |
| 66 | Jamaica | £739.56 | 2014 |
| 67 | Czech Republic | £698.52 | 2014 |
| 68 | Argentina | £697.22 | 2014 |
| 69 | Lesotho | £696.70 | 2014 |
| 70 | Malaysia | £670.54 | 2014 |
| 71 | Greece | £652.63 | 2014 |
| 72 | Chile | £649.93 | 2014 |
| 73 | Slovakia | £648.87 | 2014 |
| 74 | Lebanon | £641.49 | 2014 |
| 75 | Estonia | £626.30 | 2014 |
| 76 | Poland | £619.90 | 2014 |
| 77 | Croatia | £595.32 | 2014 |
| 78 | Uruguay | £590.45 | 2014 |
| 79 | Isle of Man | £569.09 | 2013 |
| 80 | Suriname | £553.09 | 2014 |
| 81 | Swaziland | £538.65 | 2014 |
| 82 | Costa Rica | £533.25 | 2014 |
| 83 | Panama | £527.21 | 2014 |
| 84 | Brazil | £518.80 | 2014 |
| 85 | Mozambique | £518.32 | 2014 |
| 86 | Turkey | £517.52 | 2014 |
| 87 | Nigeria | £500.83 | 2014 |
| 88 | China | £500.47 | 2014 |
| 89 | Mexico | £499.64 | 2014 |
| 90 | Trinidad and Tobago | £492.49 | 2014 |
| 91 | Latvia | £488.12 | 2014 |
| 92 | Haiti | £487.71 | 2014 |
| 93 | Fiji | £486.15 | 2014 |
| 94 | Lithuania | £480.03 | 2014 |
| 95 | Russia | £469.68 | 2014 |
| 96 | Hungary | £456.96 | 2014 |
| 97 | Sudan | £444.93 | 2014 |
| 98 | Libya | £440.88 | 2014 |
| 99 | Jordan | £436.02 | 2014 |
| 100 | Namibia | £433.30 | 2014 |
| 101 | Tanzania | £433.06 | 2014 |
| 102 | Maldives | £429.39 | 2014 |
| 103 | Kazakhstan | £420.45 | 2014 |
| 104 | Nicaragua | £405.57 | 2014 |
| 105 | Montenegro | £403.73 | 2014 |
| 106 | Iraq | £392.12 | 2014 |
| 107 | Guatemala | £390.71 | 2014 |
| 108 | Venezuela | £386.58 | 2014 |
| 109 | Bolivia | £386.22 | 2014 |
| 110 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | £385.00 | 2014 |
| 111 | Madagascar | £365.06 | 2014 |
| 112 | Botswana | £361.99 | 2014 |
| 113 | Azerbaijan | £359.25 | 2014 |
| 114 | Honduras | £357.90 | 2014 |
| 115 | Dominica | £351.76 | 2013 |
| 116 | Serbia | £347.10 | 2014 |
| 117 | Bulgaria | £346.88 | 2014 |
| 118 | Thailand | £344.15 | 2014 |
| 119 | Belarus | £343.75 | 2014 |
| 120 | Zimbabwe | £342.25 | 2014 |
| 121 | Peru | £336.86 | 2014 |
| 122 | Dominican Republic | £336.34 | 2014 |
| 123 | Romania | £333.41 | 2014 |
| 124 | Kenya | £329.39 | 2014 |
| 125 | Colombia | £324.90 | 2014 |
| 126 | Cameroon | £319.48 | 2014 |
| 127 | Mongolia | £318.22 | 2014 |
| 128 | Rwanda | £314.87 | 2014 |
| 129 | India | £309.47 | 2014 |
| 130 | Iran | £306.39 | 2014 |
| 131 | Albania | £297.20 | 2014 |
| 132 | Paraguay | £291.33 | 2014 |
| 133 | Saint Lucia | £288.25 | 2014 |
| 134 | Morocco | £284.47 | 2014 |
| 135 | Mali | £273.80 | 2014 |
| 136 | Tunisia | £269.03 | 2014 |
| 137 | Republic of Macedonia | £264.80 | 2014 |
| 138 | Uganda | £259.97 | 2014 |
| 139 | Turkmenistan | £255.54 | 2013 |
| 140 | El Salvador | £249.84 | 2014 |
| 141 | Uzbekistan | £246.91 | 2014 |
| 142 | Ecuador | £245.93 | 2014 |
| 143 | Ukraine | £244.85 | 2014 |
| 144 | Sri Lanka | £241.37 | 2014 |
| 145 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | £240.83 | 2014 |
| 146 | Ghana | £240.41 | 2014 |
| 147 | Somalia | £239.58 | 2014 |
| 147 | Kyrgyzstan | £239.58 | 2014 |
| 149 | Algeria | £237.17 | 2014 |
| 150 | Bangladesh | £232.88 | 2014 |
| 151 | Vietnam | £229.03 | 2014 |
| 152 | Philippines | £226.38 | 2014 |
| 153 | Armenia | £214.17 | 2014 |
| 154 | Indonesia | £208.26 | 2014 |
| 155 | Georgia | £204.92 | 2014 |
| 156 | Burma | £192.77 | 2014 |
| 157 | Laos | £192.57 | 2014 |
| 158 | Papua New Guinea | £187.62 | 2014 |
| 159 | Seychelles | £182.91 | 2014 |
| 160 | Egypt | £180.93 | 2014 |
| 161 | Burundi | £175.40 | 2013 |
| 162 | Syria | £172.32 | 2014 |
| 163 | Ethiopia | £170.44 | 2014 |
| 164 | Moldova | £167.08 | 2014 |
| 165 | Cambodia | £166.98 | 2014 |
| 166 | Pakistan | £163.81 | 2014 |
| 167 | Yemen | £156.75 | 2014 |
| 168 | Afghanistan | £146.20 | 2014 |
| 169 | Guyana | £143.29 | 2014 |
| 170 | Senegal | £136.90 | 2014 |
| 171 | Cape Verde | £130.86 | 2014 |
| 172 | Tajikistan | £128.19 | 2013 |
| 173 | Nepal | £113.96 | 2014 |
| 174 | Samoa | £43.68 | 2013 |
| 175 | Gambia | £26.95 | 2014 |
| 176 | Cuba | £17.15 | 2014 |
| Source: | Countries Compared by Cost of living > Average monthly disposable salary > After tax. International Statistics at NationMaster.com", Numbeo.com. Cost of living.. Aggregates compiled by NationMaster. Retrieved from http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Cost-of-living/Average-monthly-disposable-salary/After-tax | ||
