How does your country’s minimum wage compare to other European countries

Most of us have wondered how our salaries compare with those in other countries, and many a heated discussion has been held on who is faring better and why. Minimum wages provide a basisfor such comparisons, offering a glimpse into labour market conditions in each country.

Eurostat publishes a biannual minimum wages report which reflects the situation on 1 January and 1 July every year. The latest report provides the numbers for 2024, also comparing the 27 EU Member States with most of the candidate countries (Turky, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine) and the United States.

Minimum wages in the EU

Minimum wage is defined as the lowest remuneration an employee should receive for the work they provide. In 2018, about 7 out of 10 minimum wage workers in the EU found it difficult to make ends meet. Moreover, the proportion of workers earning just the minimum wage is higher than 10% in a number of countries across Europe.

Principle 6 of the European Pillar of Social Rights clearly states the right of every EU worker to adequate minimum wages that provide a decent standard of living. Recent crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine set in motion economic downturns that affected almost everyone, but especially low-wage workers and other socially vulnerable groups. In 2022, when inflation was at its highest, minimum wages fell in most Member States. All this reaffirmed the EU's commitment to setting protective measures in place.

There are two forms of minimum wages in the EU: statutory (enforced by law) and collectively agreed (by national inter-sectoral agreements, between trade unions and employers). Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden fall under the latter category.

Minimum wage variations across the EU

The 2024 Eurostat report classifies countries into three groups according to minimum wage (MW):

• MW above €1 500 per month (Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France);
• MW wage between €1 000 and € 1 500 per month (Spain, Slovenia); and
• MW equal to or below €1 000 per month (Cyprus, Poland, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Lithuania, Croatia, Estonia, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria).

Minimum wages across Member States range from the lowest (€477) in Bulgaria to the highest (€2 571) in Luxembourg.

Eurostat also introduced an artificial currency unit dubbed the 'purchasing power standard' (PPS), which allows a fairer comparison based on price level differences between the countries. In PPS terms, the above groups were slightly modified:

• MW above PPS 1 250 (Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Slovenia);
• MW between PPS 1 000 and PPS 1 250 (Romania, Lithuania, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, Malta); and
• MW below PPS 1 000 (Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria).

Even in PPS terms, Bulgaria is still the Member State on the lowest end of the spectrum (PPS 799), while Luxembourg retains its place at the top (PPS 1 912).

To find out more, check out the Eurostat - Minimum wage statistics report.

Related links:

Fair minimum wages: action for decent living conditions in the EU

How the EU improves workers' rights and working conditions

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