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Millions of workers across the EU continue to earn minimum wage. The thresholds are intended to provide a basic standard of living for workers, although the levels have often failed to increase with inflation.
As of July 2025, the monthly minimum wage before deductions in the EU ranged from €551 in Bulgaria, to €2,704 in Luxembourg, according to Eurostat.
When EU candidate countries are included, Ukraine has the lowest minimum wage, at just €164.
Five EU countries—Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Finland—do not have a national minimum wage at all.
Though Luxembourg ranks at the top and Ukraine at the bottom, when adjusted for purchasing power, how does the minimum wage across Europe compare country by country?
Gross minimum wages in Europe
As the chart below shows, there are significant differences in minimum wages across Europe, and Eurostat groups countries into three wage levels.
Euronews has added a fourth category which groups nations with minimum wages under €600 and includes EU candidate countries.
1- Highest Group: Above €1,500
Except for France, which offers €1,802, all other countries in the highest group pay over €2,000 in monthly minimum wage. Besides, Luxembourg, these include Ireland (€2,282), the Netherlands (€2,246), Germany (€2,161), and Belgium (€2,112).
2- Mid group: Between €1,000 and €1,500.
Several countries in the mid group are just above the €1,000 threshold.
3- Low group: Between €600 and €999
4-Very low group: Below €600
Several countries, including one EU member, have minimum wages below €600. This lowest group is mostly made up of EU candidate countries. It includes North Macedonia (€584), Turkey (€558), Bulgaria (€551), Albania (€408), Moldova (€285), and Ukraine (€164).
Minimum wages reflect East–West divide
As the map below shows, there is a strong geographical divide in nominal minimum wages across Europe. This is most notably between Western and Eastern Europe. In general, the four wage groups reflect different regions of the EU.
Countries in the highest group are mainly in Western and Northern Europe. The mid group includes several countries from Southern and Central Europe. The low and very low groups consist mostly of Eastern European, Balkan, and EU candidate countries.
Role of higher productivity on wages
According to Dr. Sotiria Theodoropoulou of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), higher productivity usually equates to sustainably higher wages and salaries in general. Economies with more industrial or financial activity tend to be more productive, and high-tech industries also typically show higher productivity levels. Higher bargaining power for workers is another factor.
Minimum wage rankings shift with purchasing power
When comparing minimum wages across countries, purchasing power standards (PPS) are important because the cost of living varies widely.
PPS provides a fairer comparison by using an artificial currency that reflects what people can actually buy in each country. One PPS is an artificial currency unit that, in theory, buys the same amount of goods and services in every country, according to Eurostat.
When adjusted for purchasing power, the wage gaps between countries become significantly narrower. For example, in Luxembourg, the minimum wage is 4.9 times that of Bulgaria — the highest and lowest in the EU.
In PPS terms, this gap narrows to 2.3 times. While Luxembourg (2,035) still ranks at the top, Estonia (886) has the lowest PPS minimum wage. When EU candidate countries are included, Albania is an outlier at the bottom, with a PPS of 566.
At the top, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium follow Luxembourg. Ireland and France come next.
While Eastern and Balkan countries often rank low in euro terms, they perform much better in PPS terms. Western European countries still lead, but their advantage is smaller.
For example, seven EU member states rank below North Macedonia, Turkey, and Montenegro in PPS terms. These include Malta, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Estonia.
In addition to Turkey and North Macedonia, Romania also ranks significantly higher in PPS. Montenegro and Bulgaria hold relatively stronger positions as well.
Estonia and Czechia are the two countries that lost the most ground in PPS rankings compared to their positions in euro terms.
Minimum wages changes over the past 6 and 12 months
Over the last six months, from January to July 2025, the minimum wage remained unchanged in most EU and candidate countries. In euro terms, North Macedonia recorded the highest increase at 7.7%, followed by Greece with 6.1%. Turkey saw the largest drop, with a 21.2% decline, followed by a 9.9% fall in Ukraine.
In candidate countries, changes in exchange rates played a major role. For example, in Turkey, the minimum wage stayed the same in Turkish lira during this period. However, minimum wage earners have been hit hardest by the highest inflation rate in Europe.
Between July 2024 and July 2025, Montenegro and North Macedonia recorded the highest increases in minimum wages, both above 20%. In contrast, Ukraine and Turkey experienced the largest declines.
Among eurozone countries, Croatia saw the biggest rise at 15.5%, followed by Lithuania with 12.3%.
In France, the increase was modest at just 2%. Spain and Germany recorded slightly higher gains, with 4.4% and 5.2% respectively. However, when inflation is taken into account, the real value of these increases is likely much smaller.
The UK National Minimum Wage increased by 6.7% from April 2025.
