Average salaries across Europe: Which countries pay the most?
Average wages vary widely across Europe. The cost of living also varies. So which countries offer the highest wages? And how do wages compare when adjusted for purchasing power standards? There are different definitions of wages, salaries and income, each of which reflects different aspects. The adjusted average full-time wage per employee is particularly useful. Eurostat's calculation is based on the average annual gross wage for a full-time job.
In 2023, the average monthly adjusted full-time salary for employees ranged from €1,125 in Bulgaria to €6,755 in Luxembourg. The EU average was €3,155. Denmark is the only EU country other than Luxembourg with a salary above €5,000. It offers €5,634. Ireland (€4,890) and Belgium (€4,832) come very close to this threshold. Austria (€4,542), Germany (€4,250) and Finland (€4,033) also offer salaries above €4,000. About 10 of the 26 EU countries pay below €2,000.
Among the 26 EU countries (excluding the Netherlands due to lack of Eurostat data), 10 reported an average gross salary below €2,000. In four member states, the average salary was below €1,500. Poland stood just above this level at €1,505. In Romania, Greece and Hungary, salaries were around €1,400.
Germany (€4,250) offers the highest average salary among the four largest EU economies, followed by France (€3,555). Both Italy (€2,729) and Spain (€2,716) were below the EU average by more than €400. Eurostat data cover 26 EU countries. Although not directly comparable due to methodological differences, OECD average annual wages for full-time employees include more European countries.
According to the OECD, the average salary in Switzerland was €8,104, making it the highest-paid country in Europe. Another European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country, Norway, offered an average salary of €5,027. The United Kingdom had an average salary of €4,220.
At €4,629, the Netherlands ranks among the EU countries with the highest salaries. Turkey, an EU candidate country, recorded the lowest average salary of €873, making it the only country below the €1,000 threshold. The general trend shows that Western and Northern European countries lead in salary levels, while Southern and Eastern Europe tend to offer significantly lower nominal salaries.
The highest salaries in Europe according to purchasing power
The gap in average wages narrows when measured in purchasing power standards (PPS), as this eliminates the effect of changes in the price level. The PPS is an artificial monetary unit, where one unit can theoretically buy the same amount of goods and services in each country. However, significant differences remain across the EU. In nominal terms, the highest average wage is six times higher than the lowest. When adjusted for PPS, this gap narrows to a ratio of 2.6.
In the EU, average salaries in PPS range from €1,710 in Greece to €4,479 in Luxembourg, while the EU average is €3,155. Belgium (€4,038 PPS), Denmark (€3,904 PPS), Germany (€3,898 PPS) and Austria (€3,851 PPS) were also among the top five countries. Finally, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary follow Greece, each with average salaries below €2,100 PPS. Romania ranks significantly higher in PPS.
Among the OECD data, Switzerland stands out with a high salary in purchasing power parity, at €4,412 PPS. They are followed by the Netherlands and Norway, both offering around €3,800 PPS. The United Kingdom's average salary was €3,357 in PPS. Like Romania, Turkey (€2,413 PPS) holds a significantly better position in this indicator.
The importance of higher productivity and bargaining power
Explaining the differences in wages at the country level, Dr. Sotiria Theodoropoulou, head of the European, economic, employment and social policy unit at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), noted that higher productivity is a material basis for higher sustainable wages/salaries. She emphasized that economies with more industrial or financial activity tend to be more productive. High-tech industries also tend to have higher productivity.
She also highlighted the role of labour market institutions. "In general, higher bargaining power for workers, whether from strong collective bargaining institutions and/or from policies that offer them 'external opportunities' in the labour market, makes it more likely that productivity gains will translate into higher wages and labour costs," she said.
Which countries saw the biggest increases in average wages?
Over the past five years (2018–2023), the average adjusted full-time wage has increased in nominal euro terms in all 26 EU countries. Across the EU, the average monthly wage increased by €507, reaching an annual increase of €6,708, representing an increase of 19%.
In percentage terms, growth ranged from just 4% in Sweden to a staggering 102% in Lithuania. Growth was significantly lower in the four largest EU economies: Spain saw a 19% increase, Germany 18%, France 14% and Italy just 10%.
The Nordic EU countries also remained below the EU average, along with Cyprus and Greece. In euros, average wage growth ranged from €91 per month in Greece to €1,291 per month in Luxembourg. Lithuania also recorded an impressive increase of €1,141 per month. Eurostat will publish wage figures for 2024 at the end of 2025.
Electoral transparency with advanced technology - 35.5 million lek tender opens for the new CEC system
The Central Election Commission has announced the opening of the tender for the creation of a system for indexing and searching for film footage, as well as......
Property tax, municipalities "harvest" 14 million euros - 385 thousand buildings across the country pay at market value
Municipalities are collecting more revenue from real estate taxes held by Albanian citizens. Official data from the Ministry of Finance shows that during the......
291.6 million euros in remittances in three months - Emigrant remittances to Kosovo increase
Remittances from migrants to Kosovo during the first three months of this year reached 291.65 million euros. According to official data from the Central Bank......
Euro and Pound Weaken Significantly – US Dollar Recovers!
The US dollar has recovered somewhat this morning after a continuous decline that it has suffered for some time now, as it was bought today at 86 lek and......
Greeks do not "recognize" days off - 1/3 of employees work seven days a week
Greeks are the champions of weekend work in Europe. Eurostat data shows that one in three Greek employees (32.3%) works seven days a week, either because......
Renewable energy, which countries top the rankings? - China, the dominant leader of the sector. Germany leads Europe
Following the April 28 blackout in Spain and Portugal, for which some critics blamed clean energy, particularly important in those countries in electricity......
How much do immigrants save with SEPA transfers? - Tafa: In many cases, the cost will be almost zero
Albania was the first country in the region to apply to become part of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and the first country to join along with......
US, Temu bans shipments from China - Elimination of the "de minimis" rule changes the platform's strategy
Chinese low-cost retailer Temu changed its business model in the US as the Trump administration's new rules on low-value shipments took effect. In recent......
