The top 10% of earners in Lithuania rank among the world’s highest-income groups, according to a ranking published by Euronews.
Lithuania placed 18th in the ranking of average after-tax income of the wealthiest 10% of residents, calculated using purchasing power standards, or PPS, based on 2017 prices. The country scored 47.806 PPS, ranking just below the United Kingdom and above Finland. The top spots were held by the United States with 94.857 PPS, followed by Luxembourg at 89.838 and Switzerland at 76.394.
The ranking accounts for differences in purchasing power between countries, as one PPS theoretically allows the purchase of the same basket of goods and services in each country. The portal noted, however, that the data come from different years depending on the country, meaning the list does not allow for precise comparisons but instead highlights broader trends.
Experts said that without adjusting for purchasing power differences, Lithuania would rank lower. Still, they said the country’s position among the top 20 underscores its status as a wealthy nation.
PPS is an artificial currency unit used to eliminate price-level differences between countries and allow comparisons of economic indicators. (LRT)