Data extracted in January 2025.
Planned article update: July 2025.
Highlights
On 1 January 2025, minimum wages in the EU ranged from €551 per month in Bulgaria to €2 638 per month in Luxembourg.
Expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), minimum wages ranged from PPS 878 in Estonia to PPS 1 992 in Germany.
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This article explaines how minimum wage levels vary across European Union (EU) countries. It also provides a comparison with the situation in the candidate countries and the United States.
General overview
Minimum wage statistics published by Eurostat refer to national minimum wages. The national minimum wage usually applies to all employees, or at least to a large majority of employees in a country. It is enforced by law, often after consultation with social partners, or directly by a national inter-sectoral agreement.
Minimum wages are generally presented as monthly wage rates for gross earnings (before the deduction of income tax and social security contributions payable by the employee; these deductions vary from country to country).
National minimum wages are published by Eurostat twice a year. They reflect the situation on 1 January and 1 July of each year. As a result, modifications to minimum wages introduced between these two dates are only reflected in the next release of data.
Variations in national minimum wages
Minimum wages in the EU ranges from €551 per month in Bulgaria to €2 638 per month in Luxembourg
On 1 January 2025, 22 of the 27 EU countries had a national minimum wage. There are 5 EU countries without a national minimum wage: Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden. Monthly minimum wages vary widely in the EU: from €551 in Bulgaria to €2 638 in Luxembourg (see Figure 1).
Among 10 candidate and potential candidate countries [1], 7 have a national minimum wage (Montenegro, Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine) while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Kosovo do not.
Based on their national gross monthly minimum wages applicable on 1 January 2025, expressed in euro (€), the EU countries concerned can be classified into 3 different groups (see Figure 1, non-EU countries are shown separately):
- Above €1 500 per month: This group includes Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. Their national minimum wages ranged from €1 802 in France to €2 638 in Luxembourg.
- From €1 000 to €1 500 per month: This group includes Spain, Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, Portugal and Cyprus. Their national minimum wages were between €1 000 in Cyprus and €1 381 in Spain.
- Below €1 000 per month: This group includes Croatia, Greece, Malta, Estonia, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Their national minimum wages ranged from €551 in Bulgaria to €970 in Croatia.
For reference, the United States, federal minimum wage is €1 210 per month[2].
The average annual growth rate between January 2015 and January 2025 was highest in Romania (+14.1%) followed by Lithuania (+13.2%), Bulgaria (+11.6%) and Poland (+10.3%). The lowest average annual growth rates among EU countries were recorded in France (+2.1%) and Malta (+2.9%).
Note: for countries whose national currency is not the euro: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Romania, candidate and potential candidate countries except Montenegro[3] as well as the United States, the minimum wage has been converted to euro (€) using the exchange rate in force at the end of December 2024.
Minimum wages expressed in purchasing power standards
Disparities in minimum wages are considerably smaller after adjusting for differences in price levels
Figure 2 compares gross minimum wages applicable on 1 January 2025, in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), i.e. after adjusting them to price differences across countries. This is done by using the latest purchasing power parities (PPPs) available, reference year 2023, for household final consumption expenditure .This adjustment reduces differences across countries.
In PPS terms, EU countries with a national minimum wage can be classified into 3 groups, as was the case for the values expressed in euro, but with a different composition (see Figure 2, non-EU countries are shown separately).
- Above PPS 1 500: This group includes Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, France, Poland and Spain. Their national minimum wages ranged from PPS 1 517 in Spain to PPS 1 992 in Germany.
- Between PPS 1 000 and below PPS 1 500: This group includes Slovenia, Romania, Croatia, Lithuania, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Hungary. Their national minimum wages ranged from PPS 1 030 in Hungary to PPS 1 427 in Slovenia.
- Below PPS 1 000: This group includes Slovakia, Czechia, Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia. Their national minimum wages ranged from PPS 878 in Estonia to PPS 973 in Slovakia.
For reference, the United States, the federal minimum wage is PPS 837.
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On 1 January 2025, the highest minimum wage in euro (in Luxembourg) was 4.8 times the lowest one (in Bulgaria). When expressed in PPS, the highest (in Germany) was 2.3 times the lowest (in Estonia).
Minimum wage levels in relation to median gross earnings
Figure 3 provides information on national minimum wages in proportion to median gross earnings. Data are published for reference year 2022, the last year for which earnings data are available[4], based on the Structure of Earning Survey (SES 2022).
The national minimum wages, applicable on 1 July 2022, were divided by the median gross earnings measured from the SES. Within the EU, the resulting ratio ranged from 43% (in Estonia and Latvia) to 66% (in France, Portugal and Slovenia).
In 2022, minimum wages represented over 60% of median gross earnings for full-time and part-time workers in only 3 EU countries: France, Portugal and Slovenia (all 66%). The minimum wages ranged from 50% to 60% of median gross earnings in 14 EU countries: Greece and Poland (both 59%), Luxembourg (58%), Romania (57%), Croatia (56%), Hungary (55%), Netherlands, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain and Slovakia (all 54%), followed by Czechia, Ireland and Lithuania (all 50%). In 4 EU countries – Belgium (49%), Malta (46%), Estonia and Latvia (both 43%) – the minimum wages were less than half of the median gross earnings.
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(%)
Source: Eurostat (earn_mw_cur) and Structure of Earnings Survey 2022; special calculation made for the purpose of this publication; these special calculations are not available in Eurostat's online database.
Note: For the purpose of this analysis, payments for overtime and shift work have been excluded from the calculation of median gross earnings. For the countries that had a national monthly minimum wage in July 2022 and for which SES 2022 data are available, the ratio was calculated as a proportion of the median monthly earnings. For Germany, France and Ireland, whose minimum wages are set on an hourly basis, the ratio was calculated as a proportion of the median hourly earnings. The median gross earnings were calculated for full-time and part-time workers together, after converting the monthly earnings of part-time workers into full-time equivalents.
The share of employees earning the minimum wage can vary considerably across countries. By linking microdata from SES 2022 with the level of minimum wages in force at the time (reference date: 1 July 2022), we can estimate these shares that are presented in Figure 4. For the sake of comparability, the scope has been restricted to full-time and part-time workers (converted into full-time units), aged 22 years and over, working in firms with 10 employees and more, excluding public administration, defence and compulsory social security (NACE Rev. 2 Section O). Moreover, monthly earnings calculated from the SES 2022 exclude any earnings related to overtime and shift work.
In 2022, the share of employees being paid less than 105% [5] of the national minimum wage was above 10% in 7 EU countries with a minimum wage: Bulgaria (13.0%), France (12.7%), Slovenia (12.6%), Romania (10.5%), Greece (10.2%), Poland (10.1%) and Hungary (10.0%). The lowest proportions of employees earning less than 105% of the national minimum wage were recorded in Portugal (3.1%) and Czechia (2.6%).
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Source: Eurostat (earn_mw_cur) and Structure of Earnings Survey 2022; special calculation made for the purpose of this publication; these special calculations are not available in Eurostat's online database
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
Monthly national minimum wages
Minimum wage statistics published by Eurostat refer to monthly national minimum wages. Data are published in relation to the minimum wages applied on 1 January and 1 July each year. The basic national minimum wage is fixed at an hourly, weekly or monthly rate, and this minimum wage is enforced by law (the government), often after consultation with social partners, or directly by a national intersectoral agreement.
The national minimum wage usually applies to all employees, or at least to a large majority of employees in the country; the information is reported in gross terms. A complete set of country-specific information on national minimum wages is available in an annex as part of the metadata.
For those countries where the national minimum wage is not fixed in gross terms, the net value is grossed up to cover the applicable taxes; this is the case for Montenegro and Serbia.
For those countries where the national minimum wage is not fixed at a monthly rate (for example, where minimum wages are specified on an hourly or weekly basis) the level of the minimum wage is converted into a monthly rate according to conversion factors supplied by the countries concerned:
Germany: data from January 2025 onwards [(hourly rate x 38.8 hours per week) * 4.345]; the value of 38.8 hours relates to mean basic hours per week for full time employees in NACE Rev.2 sections B to S: this value is a result of quarterly earnings survey;
Ireland: (hourly rate x 39 hours x 52 weeks) / 12 months;
France: data from July 2005 onwards (hourly rate x 35 hours x 52 weeks) / 12 months;
The Netherlands: data from January 2024 onwards (hourly rate x 36 hours x 52 weeks) / 12 months;
Malta: (weekly rate x 52 weeks) / 12 months;
United States [6]: (hourly rate x 40 hours x 52 weeks) / 12 months.
In Serbia, the national minimum wage is determined in net hourly terms. The following conversion is applied: (hourly net rate x 40 hours x 52.2 weeks) / 12 months. This value is then grossed up to cover applicable taxes.
In addition, when the minimum wage is paid for more than 12 months per year (as in Greece, Spain and Portugal, where it is paid for 14 months a year), data have been adjusted to take these payments into account.
In the Netherlands minimum wages apply to all employees aged 21 years and older. The lowest rate of minimum wages apply to employees aged 15-20.
Data on national minimum wages are submitted to Eurostat in national currency terms. For the non-euro area countries, minimum wages in national currencies are converted into euro by applying the exchange rate as recorded at the end of the previous month (for example, the rate at the end of December 2024 was used for calculating minimum wages in euro terms as of 1 January 2025).
To remove the effect of differences in price levels between the countries, special conversion rates called purchasing power parities (PPPs) are used. PPPs for household final consumption expenditure in each country are used to convert the monthly minimum wages expressed in euro or national currencies to an artificial common unit called the purchasing power standard (PPS). If PPPs for the latest reference period are not yet available, they are replaced by the PPP of the previous year, and the series are updated once the latest PPPs are available.
Countries not covered by minimum wage statistics
As of 1 January 2025, there was no national minimum wage in Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden. This was also the case in the EFTA countries of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The minimum wage was introduced in Cyprus on 1 January 2023. In Denmark, Italy, Austria , Finland and Sweden, as well as in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, minimum wage are laid down by collective agreements for a range of specific sectors.
Median gross monthly earnings
Data on median gross monthly earnings are based on the latest data collected from the structure of earnings survey (SES) in 2022 (this survey is conducted once every four years). Data on median gross monthly earnings refer to all employees (excluding apprentices) working in enterprises with 10 employees or more and which operate in all sectors of the economy except agriculture, forestry and fishing (NACE Rev. 2 section A) and public administration and defence; compulsory social security (NACE Rev. 2 section O).
Median earnings is the level of earnings which divides all employees into two equal groups: half earn less than the median and half earn more.
Gross monthly earnings refer to the wages and salaries earned by full-time and part-time employees in the reference month (2022). They exclude overtime pay and other extra payments and and are calculated before tax and social security contributions payable by the employee are deducted. The country-specific activity coverage for national minimum wages as a proportion of average monthly earnings is available in an annex that forms part of the metadata.
Context
In November 2017, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights to deliver on Europe’s promise of prosperity, progress and convergence, and make social Europe a reality for all. Principle 6 ‘Wages’ calls for adequate minimum wages as well as transparent and predictable wage setting to be put in place. This should be in accordance with national practices and respect the autonomy of social partners.
On 19 October 2022, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union [1]. It aims to improve working and living conditions in the European Union (EU) by establishing a framework for adequacy of statutory minimum wages; promoting collective bargaining on wage-setting; enhancing the effective access of workers to their rights to minimum wage protection under national legislation and/or collective agreements.
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Earnings, see:
- Minimum wages (earn_minw)
- Monthly minimum wages - bi-annual data (earn_mw_cur)
- Monthly minimum wage as a proportion of average monthly earnings (%) — NACE Rev. 2 (from 2008 onwards) (earn_mw_avgr2)
- Monthly minimum wage as a proportion of average monthly earnings (%) — NACE Rev. 1.1 (1999-2009) (earn_mw_avgr1)
- Minimum wages (earn_minw)
Thematic section
Selected datasets
Methodology
- Minimum wages (ESMS metadata file — earn_minw_esms)
- ↑ https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Candidate_countries
- ↑ Source https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/minimumwage, see also metadata, annex "Monthly minimum wage national metadata"
- ↑ Montenegro has unilaterally adopted the euro as the national currency
- ↑ SES2022 data are not available for Montenegro, Moldova, North Macedonia, Türkiye and Ukraine
- ↑ This share is derived from the monthly earnings collected through SES 2022. As the earnings concept used in the minimum wage definition may not be exactly the same as in the structure of earnings survey, the cut-off used to estimate the share of minimum wage earners includes 5% mark-up.
- ↑ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked