CEO Salary in India (2026)

CEOs in India earn an estimated $19,824 USD per year, which is approximately ₹1,655,304 INR at current exchange rates. This places India at #42 out of 42 countries in our global salary ranking for this occupation.

Compared to the United States, where CEOs earn an estimated $215,000 USD per year, the salary in India is 91% lower. This difference reflects variations in local economies, cost of living, labor market conditions, and industry demand for CEOs in India.

While nominal salary figures provide a useful starting point, they don't tell the full story. When adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), the salary for a CEO in India is equivalent to $579,757 USD. This means that after accounting for differences in the cost of goods and services, the real buying power of this salary is actually higher than the nominal figure suggests, indicating a relatively lower cost of living in India.

To put this in more tangible terms, using The Economist's Big Mac Index as an informal measure of purchasing power, a CEO's annual salary in India could buy approximately 7,930 Big Macs per year. This everyday comparison helps illustrate the real-world purchasing power of this salary beyond abstract currency conversions.

Among the 42 countries we track, a CEO in India earns more than 2% of CEOs worldwide. The highest-paying country for this role is United States at $178,450 USD, while the lowest is India at $19,824 USD.

These estimates are derived from publicly available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), OECD average wages, World Bank purchasing power parity factors, and The Economist's Big Mac Index. The salary for each country is calculated by adjusting the U.S. baseline salary using country-specific wage ratios and sector multipliers. While these figures provide a useful benchmark, actual salaries can vary significantly based on experience level, company size, specific city or region, education, and industry sector.