Living Wage Estimates
As of 2003, there are 122 living wage ordinances in American cities and an additional 75 under discussion. Article 23 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that " Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and for his family an existence worthy of human dignity." In addition to legislative acts, many corporations have adopted voluntary codes of conduct. The Sullivan Principles in South Africa an example of a voluntary code of conduct which state that firms should compensate workers to at least cover their basic needs.
| Country | One full-time worker (four person household) | Average number of full-time worker equivalents in country(four person household) | One full-time worker( household size varies by country) | Average number of full-time worker equivalents in each country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 1.61 | 1.14 | 2.02 | 1.44 |
| India | 1.55 | 1.32 | 1.79 | 1.52 |
| Zimbabwe | 2.43 | 1.70 | 3.18 | 2.22 |
| Low income average | 1.86 | 1.39 | 2.33 | 1.72 |
| Armenia | 3.03 | 2.05 | 2.52 | 1.70 |
| Ecuador | 1.94 | 1.74 | 2. 23 | 2.01 |
| Egypt | 1.96 | 1.77 | 2.45 | 2.21 |
| China | 2.08 | 1.47 | 1.95 | 1.38 |
| South Africa | 3.10 | 2.60 | 3.35 | 2.81 |
| Lower Middle Income Average | 2.42 | 1.93 | 2.50 | 2.02 |
| Lithuania | 4.62 | 3.21 | 3.97 | 2.76 |
| Costa Rica | 3.68 | 3.38 | 3.90 | 3.58 |
| Upper Middle Income Average | 4.14 | 3.30 | 3.94 | 3.17 |
| United States | 13.10 | 11.00 | 13.36 | 11.23 |
| Switzerland | 16.41 | 13.23 | 14.76 | 11.91 |
| High Income Average | 14.75 | 12.10 | 14.06 | 11.57 |
In the above table, cross national comparable living wages were estimated for twelve countries and reported in local currencies and purchasing power parity(PPP). Living wage estimates for the year 2000, range from US $1.7 PPP per hour in low-income examples to approximately US$11.6 PPP per hour in high-income examples.
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