What European country has the highest minimum wages?

Some 22 out of 27 EU countries currently have minimum wage structures in place, new data from Eurostat has found, with Luxembourg boasting the highest rate, of €2,638 per month, as of the start of 2025.

Other countries to report a high minimum wage include Ireland (€2,282), the Netherlands (€2,193), Germany (€2,161) and Belgium (€2,070).

At the other end of the scale, a total of ten countries boasted a minimum wage of below €1,000 per month, with Bulgaria having the lowest minimum wage in the EU, of €551 per month.

This was followed by Hungary (€707), Latvia (€740), Romania (€814), Slovakia (€816), Czechia (€826), Estonia (€886), Malta (€961), Greece (€968) and Croatia (€970), the data showed.

Elsewhere, six countries report minimum wages between €1,000 and €1,500 per month, including Cyprus (€1,000), Portugal (€1,015), and Spain (€1,381).

Price level differences

According to Eurostat, the highest minimum wage in the European Union is 4.8 times that of the lowest, however the disparities in minimum wages are considerably lower once price level differences are taken into account.

In relative terms, three countries — France, Portugal, and Slovenia — boast minimum wages accounting for 66% of median gross monthly earnings, meeting or exceeding the commonly cited 60% benchmark for adequacy. By contrast, Belgium, Malta, Estonia, and Latvia report the lowest relative minimum wages, with figures under 50% of median earnings.

Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden don’t currently have a minimum wage structure in place. Read more here.

Minimum Wage in EU Member States – 2025 (S1)

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