You have to know what numbers these are. It's not uncommon that people use net pay numbers in Europe. I've seen OECD and UN papers comparing net in one country

You have to know what numbers these are. It's not uncommon that people use net pay numbers in Europe. I've seen OECD and UN papers comparing net in one country with gross in another. There might even be that to compare with US pays, you have to use a third number - employer's expenses, because some taxes are paid directly by employer in some countries.