How we source the data

• Figures come only from official government sources or verified publications, such as big-four tax summaries and official circulars.
• Every figure carries a source link and a last-checked date (currently Oct 2026).
• Anything not yet verified is marked "Coming soon" rather than estimated.
• Internet speeds are Ookla Speedtest Global Index country-level medians, not city figures.
• The sources list below is generated automatically from every source link and every URL cited in a note in the data file, deduplicated by URL and grouped by country.

• Regional: Vietnam (Regions I–IV), Thailand (provinces), Indonesia (provincial UMP and city/regency UMK), India (states, often by zone and skill), Pakistan (provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory), Philippines (regions).
• National: Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Hong Kong.
• Absent: Singapore (Progressive Wage Model sector floors and the Local Qualifying Salary only), United Arab Emirates (none, except the Emiratisation floor for Emirati staff) and Cambodia (garment, footwear and travel-goods sector only).

• Philippines: daily minimum wages are converted to a monthly equivalent using 313 paid days per year ÷ 12.
• Hong Kong: the hourly minimum wage is converted using 8 hours × 22 working days per month.
• India: PF wages default to 50% of gross, reflecting the labour-code rule that excluded allowances above 50% of total pay count as wages.
• Daily rates elsewhere (e.g. Bangkok) use the same 313-day convention.
• Where a contribution cap is flagged as "not applied" (Vietnam social and health insurance, Cambodia NSSF), the cap amount isn't verified yet, so results may overstate employer cost for high earners.
• Nationality matters in Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE and Vietnam: use the nationality toggle to switch between national and foreign-employee rules.
• UAE: end-of-service gratuity for expatriates is shown as a monthly accrual of basic salary × 21 ÷ 365 (first five years of service; enter basic salary).
• Indonesia: THR (religious holiday allowance) is accrued monthly as 1/12 of salary.
• Excluded: income tax, insurance premiums, benefits, office costs, and gratuity other than the UAE accrual.

Field notes are firsthand operator observations by Gregory Dunham. They are labelled separately from official data and never replace a sourced figure.

All figures are reviewed quarterly, and sooner when an official change is announced.