Minimum wages in 2026: What countries pay most throughout Europe?

Minimum wages vary greatly throughout Europe. Euronews Business examines them more closely both in euros and in terms of purchasing power since the beginning of 2026.

About 12.8 million workers in 22 EU countries earn a minimum or less salary, according to a Euronews assessment based on Eurostat data.

As a result, millions are closely following reports of minimum wage to see if they will receive a good raise in the new year.

However, about a third of those who earn minimum wage saw no increase since January 2026 compared to July 2025. In four countries, there has been no increase in the past year.

So, since January 2026, which European countries have the highest minimum wage? How much is the salary worth in terms of purchasing power? And how do the rankings change when they compare nominal amounts in euros with purchasing power?

Among EU member states, the minimum gross monthly wage ranges from 620 euros in Bulgaria to 2,704 euros in Luxembourg. When candidate countries are included, Ukraine is an exception of 173 euros, followed by Moldova at 319 euros.

Five countries have minimum salaries of over 2,000 euros. Besides Luxembourg, they are Ireland (2,391 euros), Germany (2,343 euros), the Netherlands (2,295 euros) and Belgium (2,112 euros).

Below this high group, France stands at 1,823 euros, dropping to 1,381 euros in Spain, stressing how much the levels vary even among neighbouring countries.

Thus, Eurostat groupes minimum wages into three categories: over 1,500 euros, between 1,000 euros and 1,500 euros and below 1,000 euros.

Spain, Slovenia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus, Portugal, Croatia and Greece are part of this medium-level group. The differences between them are relatively small.

Less than 1,000 euros in half of European countries

Among 29 EU members and seven candidate minimum wage candidates is below 1,000 euros in 15 countries. All EU candidate countries fall into this lower group. Several Eastern European countries are also involved.

For example, the minimum wage is 924 euros in Czechia, 838 euros in Hungary, 795 euros in Romania, 654 euros in Turkey and 517 euros in Albania. Three candidate countries have minimum salaries higher than Bulgaria.

The map below highlights a clear geographical divide into minimum nominal wages across Europe, especially between Western and eastern countries.

Buying power narrows the sequence

When minimal wages are compared between countries, purchasing power standards (PPS) are important because living costs vary greatly. After settling for purchasing power, wage gaps between countries become much closer than in nominal terms.

The PPS offers a more fair comparison by using an artificial currency that reflects what people can actually buy in each country, equated real purchasing power compared with the strict terms of the euro value.

A PPS is an artificial monetary unit that, in theory, buys the same basket of goods and services in every country.

In view of this, in the 22 EU nations, the minimum wage ranges from 886 in Estonia to 2,157 in Germany in PPS terms.

While the ranking changes slightly, the first nine countries remain the same in both the euro and the PPS.

In addition to Albania, EU candidate countries perform better in terms of PPS, with purchasing power higher than some EU member states.

Among the 27 countries where figures in the euro and PPS are available, Romania is the largest winner, with its ranking growing from 20th to 12th. Even North Macedonia improves, moving from 26th to Euro terms to 20th to PPS.

Serbia moves from 22nd to 17th, while Turkey climbs three places.

By contrast, Chekhia and Estonia are the biggest losers, each with eight seats down. Chechia falls from 16th to 24th, while Estonia falls from 18th to 26th.

There are no minimum statute wages in Italy, Austria and three Nordic countries: Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.

Where did the minimum wage 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 registered the highest increases, each with more than 11% during this period.

It also remained the same in Estonia, Spain and Slovenia between January 2025 and January 2026. In Romania, the minimum wage in the national currency remained unchanged, but dropped slightly in euros during both periods.

Reasons Behind Differences

Experts at the European Unions Institute (ETUI) noted that higher productivity is the basis for wages and higher wages steadily. Economics with stronger industrial or financial activity tend to be more productive.

High-tech industries usually also show higher productivity. Another key factor is the strongest negotiating power for workers./Periscopi/