Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
As of January 1, 2025, 22 of the 27 EU countries had a national minimum wage, with the exception of Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland, and Sweden.
In January 2025, 10 EU countries had minimum wages below €1,000 per month: Bulgaria (€551), Hungary (€707), Latvia (€740), Romania (€814), Slovakia (€816), Czechia (€826), Estonia (€886), Malta (€961), Greece (€968), and Croatia (€970).
In six other countries, the minimum wage ranged between €1,000 and €1,500 per month: Cyprus (€1,000), Portugal (€1,015), Lithuania (€1,038), Poland (€1,091), Slovenia (€1,278), and Spain (€1,381). In the remaining six countries, the minimum wage exceeded €1,500 per month: France (€1,802), Belgium (€2,070), Germany (€2,161), the Netherlands (€2,193), Ireland (€2,282), and Luxembourg (€2,638).
Smaller gaps in minimum wages after excluding price differences
The data indicate that the highest minimum wage in EU countries was 4.8 times the lowest. However, the differences in minimum wages between countries are much smaller when price differences are taken into account.
When the minimum wage is expressed in Purchasing Power Parity (PPS), it is higher in EU countries with low price levels than in countries with high price levels.
After adjusting for price differences between countries, the minimum wage ranged from 878 PPS per month in Estonia to 1,992 PPS in Germany, meaning that the highest minimum wage was 2.3 times the lowest minimum. Minimum wages are above 60% of average gross monthly income in France, Portugal, and Slovenia.
Measured as a percentage of average income, in 2022, the minimum wage represented more than 60% of average gross monthly income in three EU countries: France, Portugal, and Slovenia (66% in all countries).
At the lower end of the distribution, the minimum wage was less than half of average income in four countries: Belgium (49%), Malta (46%), Estonia, and Latvia (43% in both countries).