[defrost]

These are not apples to apples comparisons though, for the very reasons mentioned upthread.

A median wage of $32K in Sweden might come with near zero expenses for health, education, additional security, daily transport, etc.

A median US wage of $47K might incure additional expenses for health, education, etc.

These are post tax "median disposable income per person" figures - and other countries get a great deal more direct benefit per citizen post tax than the US provides.

[lillecarl]

If this is after taxes then the numbers are indeed way different. I effectively pay 55% taxes on my income (some is nicely hidden behind an employers tax so that the population doesn't see how much they're actually paying). The employers tax isn't part of your income, but it's part of what companies pay for your time.