An image encoding method in which when transmitting or storing an image, a frame of the image is divided into predetermined-sized processing regions, and for each processing region, a pixel value of each pixel is predicted for the encoding. The method includes a step that determines one pixel value, which is assigned to and represents each object in the processing region, to be an object pixel value that is associated with an object identifier for identifying the relevant object; a step that generates, based on each object pixel value and the pixel value of each pixel in the processing region, an object map that indicates which object has been obtained at each pixel in the processing region, by using the object identifier; a step that generates a predicted image for the processing region by assigning the object pixel value to each pixel in accordance with the object map; a step that encodes the object map; a step that encodes each object pixel value; and a step that performs predictive encoding of an image signal for the processing region by using the predicted image.