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Taking stock of minimum wage around the world

Tony Wagner and Janet Nguyen Sep 1, 2015

Myanmar has introduced  a minimum wage for the first time, which takes effect Tuesday, according to Reuters. 

The new policy would require employers to pay workers 3,600 kyat, or  $2.80, for an eight-hour work day, which equals about 35 cents an hour. 

Minimum wage standards vary greatly even among the Southeast Asian country’s neighbors, with Thailand’s minimum about three times Myanmar’s amount at 300 baht, or nearly $8.40 per day. Bangladesh’s daily minimum wage is about 74 cents outside of the cotton and jute textile industries and the engineering industry.  

Amid Myanmar’s wage announcement, let’s take a look at the different minimum-wage standards set by countries around the world, in particular, members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development:

Must be nice to live in Luxembourg, right? But here’s another perspective: compare each country’s minimum wage to what its citizens typically earn:

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