Minimum wages in Europe - Luxembourg tops with 2,771 euros. At the bottom, Ukraine with 169 euros
Only eight of the 29 European countries increased their gross minimum wage between January and July 2026, while consumer inflation in the euro area was 3.2% over the six-month period. This means that minimum wage earners lost ground in real terms in some countries where inflation was quite high.
In nominal terms, Luxembourg has the highest gross monthly minimum wage in Europe as of July 2026, at 2,771 euros. Within the EU, the minimum wage is lowest in Bulgaria, at 620 euros. When EU candidate countries are included, Ukraine has the lowest minimum wage, at 169 euros.
Looking at the distribution of minimum wage levels, five countries have a gross monthly minimum wage above €2,000. Nine countries fall between €1,000 and €2,000, although the range is heavily concentrated towards the lower end, with only one country above €1,500.
In 15 countries, the gross monthly minimum wage is below €1,000, meaning that more than half of the countries with available data fall into this group. However, seven of these are EU candidate countries. Finally, Ukraine and Moldova stand out as special countries with €169 and €313 respectively, with all other countries above the €500 level.
Rankings based on purchasing power standards (PPS) differ significantly from those based on nominal terms in some countries. The gap between countries is also narrower. PPS provides a fairer comparison through an artificial currency that captures what people can actually afford in each country. In theory, a PPS can buy the same amount of goods and services in each country.
According to the PPS, minimum wages range from 705 in Albania to 2,164 in Germany. No data is available for Ukraine and Moldova, while the figure for Turkey reflects July 2025. Five EU countries, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Finland, do not have a minimum wage.
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