Which EU countries have the highest and lowest minimum wage increases?!
Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland have recorded the highest average annual rate of minimum wage increase in the EU between January 2015 and January 2025. They represent an increase of between 14% and 10%, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
On the other hand, the lowest average annual growth rates among EU countries were recorded in France at +2.1% and Malta at +2.9%. In the EU, 22 out of 27 member states have a defined national minimum wage.
However, monthly minimum wages vary widely across EU countries. The only exceptions are Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden.
Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France are the six countries with a minimum wage above 1,500 euros per month.
The national minimum wages of these countries ranged from €1,802 in France to €2,638 in Luxembourg.
On the other hand, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Hungary and Bulgaria have the lowest minimum wages, which are below 1,000 euros per month.
Their national minimum wages ranged from 551 euros in Bulgaria to 970 euros in Croatia.
Is salary the only measure of evaluation?
Purchasing Power Standard (PPS), which measures the price of specific goods, may provide a fairer comparison given that living costs, particularly housing costs, vary significantly across European countries.
In EU countries, inequalities in minimum wage are significantly smaller after adjusting for differences in price levels.
Eurostat divided EU countries into three groups: over 1500 PPS, between 1000 PPS and under 1500 PPS, and under 1000 PPS.
Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, France and Poland are the seven member states in the above 1500 PPS generation.
Meanwhile, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia are the six countries in the band below PPS 1000.
However, countries with a lower absolute minimum wage may offer similar purchasing power compared to richer countries due to lower living costs.
Poland, for example, moves to the highest level when it adjusted for purchasing power parity, suggesting that its minimum wage has strong purchasing power relative to its cost of living.
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