TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - It cannot be denied that salary is one of the main considerations when looking for work. Based on Michael Page Indonesia's report in Talent Trends 2022: The Great X, as many as 25 percent of respondents said that salary, bonuses and awards are important factors in choosing a workplace.

However, based on the February 2021 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas), there are 49.7 percent of workers who are still paid below the minimum wage. In addition, out of a total of 34 provinces in Indonesia, there are 11 provinces where the average net wage is still below the minimum wage standard.

So, which are the countries with the lowest salaries in Asia?

List of Countries with the Lowest Salaries in Asia

The Numbeo database ranks 33 countries in Asia based on workers' average monthly wages after tax. The following is a list of 10 countries that have the lowest monthly wages in Asia:

1. Pakistan

In first position is Pakistan which has an average monthly minimum wage of US$172 or around IDR 2.7 million (exchange rate IDR 15,770). In 2021, 37.54 percent of the workforce in Pakistan works in the agricultural sector, followed by industry and services.

2. Sri Lanka

The average minimum salary received by Sri Lankan citizens is US$183 or the equivalent of IDR 2.8 million per month. About 24.2 percent of Sri Lanka's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from agricultural exports. The agricultural sector also absorbs almost half of the workforce.

3. Nepal

Nepal's Ministry of Finance reported that more than six million local residents or around 21.6 percent were below the poverty line in 2018. The majority of Nepalese people work odd jobs with an average minimum wage of around US$210 or IDR 3.3 million per month.

4. Bangladesh

About two-thirds of Bangladesh's population work as farmers. Meanwhile, more than three-quarters of the country's economic revenues from exports come from the textile industry. The average monthly minimum salary for Bangladeshis is US$243 or IDR 3.8 million.

5. Iran

Iran occupies the 5th position as the country with the lowest salaries in Asia. According to Numbeo, the average net minimum wage earned by local residents is only US$266 or IDR 4.1 million per month. Meanwhile, according to the Trade Union Association, around 96 percent of workers in Iran worked on a temporary contract system in 2017.

6. Indonesia

In the Southeast Asia region, Indonesia is reported to have a workforce with an average minimum salary of US$321 or IDR 5 million per month. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), as many as 37.02 percent of the population in the country had the status of workers, employees and employees in February 2021.

7. Philippines

Shifting to the Philippines, Numbeo noted that the average minimum wage for Filipino citizens is US$338 or IDR 5.3 million per month. The main economic activities of the population of the country nicknamed the Land of a Million Elephants are in the fields of agriculture and fishing.

8. Uzbekistan

The average minimum income for Uzbek citizens is US$347 or IDR 5.4 million per month. According to the World Bank, more than state-owned enterprises (BUMN) will dominate the economy in Uzbekistan in 2021.

9. Azerbaijan

The World Bank also stated that around 674 types of jobs in Azerbaijan are only for men in 2021. This discrimination has an impact on the average income of women which is much lower than that of male workers. The average minimum wage in Azerbaijan is US$368 or IDR 5.8 million per month.

10. Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the countries with the lowest salaries in Asia, namely US$455 or IDR 7.1 million per month. Based on documents resulting from the working visit of Commission IX DPR RI on 4-10 July 2010, the Vietnamese government is said to have to think about 1.5-1.6 million people every year who need work.

MELYNDA DWI PUSPITA

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