Freelancers in Poorer Countries Earn 60% Less for the Same Work
The ILO surveyed 12,000 platform workers across 100 countries. The gap survives controls for task type and worker characteristics.
The pay gap between freelancers in rich and poor countries is not simply a reflection of different work. The International Labour Organization measured it with controls, and it survives them.
The finding
In its 2021 flagship report on digital labour platforms, the ILO reports that workers in developing countries "earn 60 per cent less" on freelance platforms than those in developed countries, "even after controlling for basic characteristics and types of tasks performed".
The study surveyed around 12,000 workers in 100 countries across freelance, contest-based, competitive-programming and microtask platforms, alongside interviews with 70 businesses and 16 platform companies.
The absolute levels are worth stating plainly. Average hourly earnings on online web-based platforms were US$3.40, and half of all workers earned less than US$2.10 an hour. Freelance platforms averaged US$7.60; microtask platforms US$3.30.
The mechanism
A separate study offers evidence about how the gap operates. Researchers analysed the complete internal transaction records of a large Spanish-language platform: 81,497 bids by 18,356 job seekers on 5,262 jobs, over 44 months.
Foreign job seekers were 42% less likely to win contracts from Spanish employers, controlling for observable characteristics and for their bids. Employers rejected foreign bids that were on average 14% lower, and domestic workers commanded roughly a 16% premium.
Two details matter for anyone starting out. The penalty was largest where employers had least information about the worker, meaning those without prior contracts. And poor feedback damaged foreign workers disproportionately.
That study is Spanish-language and Latin American. It is evidence about a mechanism, not a Botswana statistic, and should not be presented as one.
What follows
- Information about you is the thing that closes the gap, which is why a visible track record is worth more than a lower rate
- The early period, before you have platform history, is when the penalty is worst
- Underpricing does not overcome it; the Spanish study found lower bids losing anyway
This is the evidence behind the advice in getting paid from abroad to price against the value of the work rather than the local market. The scale of the opportunity, and its funnel, is covered in the freelancing numbers. The local wage context it has to be priced against sits in what official data says Batswana earn.
Frequently asked
Do freelancers in Botswana get paid less than those in rich countries?
The ILO found workers in developing countries earn 60% less on freelance platforms, after controlling for worker characteristics and the type of task. That study covered around 12,000 workers in 100 countries, though it used a platform-recruited rather than nationally representative sample.
How much do online freelancers actually earn?
The ILO reports average hourly earnings of US$3.40 on online web-based platforms, with half of workers earning under US$2.10 an hour. Freelance platforms averaged US$7.60 an hour and microtask platforms US$3.30.
Should I lower my rate to win international freelance work?
The evidence suggests it does not work. In a study of 81,497 bids, foreign applicants were 42% less likely to win contracts even though their bids were on average 14% lower. What reduced the penalty was information about the worker, meaning a visible track record.