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Thenational average salary (ornational average wage) is themeansalary for the workingpopulation of a nation. It is calculated bysumming all the annual salaries of all persons in work (surveyed) anddividing the total by the number of workers (surveyed).[1] It is not the same as theGross domestic product (GDP)per capita, which is calculated by dividing the GDP by the total population of a country, including theunemployed and those not in theworkforce (e.g. retired people, children, students, etc.).[citation needed] It can be useful in understanding economic conditions, and to employers and employees in negotiating salaries.[1] The nationalmedian salary is usually significantly less than the national average salary because the distribution of workers by salary isskewed.[2]