Minimum wages vary widely across Europe. Euronews Business takes a closer look at them in both euro and purchasing power terms as of early 2026.
Around 12.8 million workers across 22 EU countries earn a minimum wage or less, according to a Euronews estimate based on Eurostat data.
As a result, millions are watching minimum wage announcements closely to see whether they will get a decent raise in the new year.
However, around a third of minimum wage earners saw no increase as of January 2026 compared to July 2025. In four countries, there has been no rise at all over the past year.
So, as of January 2026, which European countries have the highest minimum wages? How much are these wages worth in purchasing power terms? And how do the rankings change when comparing nominal euro amounts with purchasing power?
Among EU member states, the monthly gross minimum wage ranges from €620 in Bulgaria to €2,704 in Luxembourg. When candidate countries are included, Ukraine is an outlier at €173, followed by Moldova at €319.
Five countries have minimum wages above €2,000. Besides Luxembourg, they are Ireland (€2,391), Germany (€2,343), the Netherlands (€2,295) and Belgium (€2,112).
Below this top group, France stands at €1,823, falling to €1,381 in Spain, highlighting how much the levels differ even between neighbouring countries.
Eurostat thus groups minimum wages into three categories: above €1,500, between €1,000 and €1,500, and below €1,000.
Spain, Slovenia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus, Portugal, Croatia and Greece fall into this mid-range group. The differences between them are relatively small.
Less than €1,000 in half of European countries
Among 29 countries — 22 EU members and seven candidates — the minimum wage is below €1,000 in 15 countries. All EU candidate countries fall into this lowest group. Several Eastern European countries are also included.
For example, the minimum wage stands at €924 in Czechia, €838 in Hungary, €795 in Romania, €654 in Turkey and €517 in Albania. Three candidate countries have higher minimum wages than Bulgaria.
The map below highlights a clear geographical split in nominal minimum wages across Europe, particularly between western and eastern countries.
Purchasing power narrows the rankings
When comparing minimum wages across countries, purchasing power standards (PPS) matter because living costs vary widely. Once adjusted for purchasing power, wage gaps between countries become much narrower than in nominal terms.
PPS offers a fairer comparison by using an artificial currency that reflects what people can actually buy in each country, evening out the real purchasing power compared to strict euro value terms.
One PPS is an artificial currency unit that, in theory, purchases the same basket of goods and services in every country.
With that in mind, across the 22 EU countries, the minimum wage ranges from 886 in Estonia to 2,157 in Germany in PPS terms.
While the rankings change slightly, the top nine countries remain the same in both euro and PPS terms.
Apart from Albania, EU candidate countries perform better in PPS terms, with higher purchasing power than several EU member states.
Among the 27 countries where both euro and PPS figures are available, Romania is the biggest winner, with its ranking rising from 20th to 12th. North Macedonia also improves, moving from 26th in euro terms to 20th in PPS.
Serbia rises from 22nd to 17th, while Turkey climbs three places.
In contrast, Czechia and Estonia are the biggest losers, each falling eight places. Czechia drops from 16th to 24th, while Estonia falls from 18th to 26th.
There is no statutory minimum wage in Italy, Austria and three Nordic countries: Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Where did minimum wages not change?
Among EU countries, the minimum wage remained unchanged in Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Luxembourg and Slovenia between July 2025 and January 2026.
Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia recorded the highest increases, each rising by more than 11% over this period.
It also stayed the same in Estonia, Spain and Slovenia between January 2025 and January 2026. In Romania, the minimum wage in national currency remained unchanged, but it declined slightly in euro terms over both periods.
Reasons behind differences
Experts at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) noted that higher productivity is the basis for sustainably higher wages and salaries. Economies with stronger industrial or financial activity tend to be more productive.
High-tech industries also usually show higher productivity. Stronger bargaining power for workers is another key factor.
