In nominal terms, Eastern and Southeastern Europe experienced the most significant increases in minimum wages between 2015 and 2025. Euronews Business examines how minimum wages have changed across Europe over the past decade.
An adequate minimum wage is crucial for ensuring a decent standard of living for workers. But how have minimum wages changed in Europe from 2015 to 2025? And, over the last decade, have wage disparities been widening or narrowing?
As of January 2025, gross monthly minimum wages in the EU ranged from €551 in Bulgaria to €2,638 in Luxembourg, according to Eurostat. When including EU candidate countries with available data, the lowest minimum wage drops to €182 in Ukraine, followed by €285 in Moldova.
In January 2015, this total had varied from €184 in Bulgaria to €1,923 in Luxembourg. Among candidate countries, the lowest figure was €53 in Moldova.
In nominal euro terms (excluding local currency fluctuations), Romania recorded the highest increase in gross minimum wages among EU countries. It saw the total rising 273% from €218 in January 2015 to €814 in January 2025. When including candidate countries, Moldova saw the most significant growth, with an increase of 438%.
In Bulgaria, where wages have historically been among the lowest in the EU, the minimum wage increased from €184 to €551, marking a 199% rise between 2015 and 2025.
France saw the smallest increase, with minimum wages rising by just 24%, from €1,458 to €1,802 over the same period.
In Germany, the minimum wage rose by €717, translating to a 50% increase. In the Netherlands, it increased from €1,502 to €2,193, reflecting a 46% rise.
Eastern and Southeastern Europe saw the fastest growth
Eastern and Southeastern Europe experienced the fastest wage growth, helping narrow the gap with Western Europe. Since these countries started with lower wages, even moderate increases led to large percentage gains.
The Baltic states also saw strong growth, while Western Europe had smaller increases, reflecting more stable economies and already high wage levels.
Looking at the average annual growth rate of minimum wages between January 2015 and January 2025, we see similar trends.
Romania recorded the highest growth among EU countries at 14.1%, while among EU candidate countries, Moldova saw the highest increase at 18.4%.
France had the lowest growth at just 2.1%. Growth rates also remained below 5% in Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece.
Has minimum wage disparity increased or decreased in the EU?
In 2015, among the 21 EU countries, the spread or standard deviation (SD) was 527, rising to 608 in 2025. An increasing SD reflects larger disparities, but the change is moderate, not significant.
However, the max/min ratio saw a remarkable decline during this period. In 2015, the highest minimum wage in the EU was 10.4 times the lowest, but by 2025, this gap had narrowed to 4.8. The rapid wage increases in Eastern Europe contributed to balancing disparities.
Minimum wage rankings in PPS
As of January 2025, minimum wages adjusted for Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) ranged from 878 in Estonia to 1,992 in Germany among EU countries. Albania recorded the lowest figure at 564 among candidate countries with available data.
Minimum wage disparities in PPS narrowed between 2015 and 2025. Among the 21 EU countries, the standard deviation saw a very slight decline from 359 to 356, meaning a minor reduction in wage inequality.
The decrease was stronger in the max/min ratio. In 2015, the highest minimum wage in PPS terms was 4.1 times greater than the lowest. By 2025, this difference had fallen to 2.1, indicating a more even wage distribution.
Among the 26 countries, including both EU members and candidates, Romania saw the most significant improvement in PPS terms, climbing from 24th to 10th place. Similarly, Lithuania made notable progress, moving up from 21st to 12th place.
Malta experienced the biggest decline, dropping nine places from 8th to 17th, marking the worst ranking change. Greece and Estonia also saw declines, each falling five places in the rankings.
EU Minimum Wage Directive
Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Sweden do not have a national minimum wage. To improve living standards, the EU Minimum Wage Directive, adopted in October 2022, aims to establish a framework for ensuring adequate minimum wage levels across member states.
However, as of October 2024, the majority of EU member states have yet to begin the process of incorporating the Minimum Wage Directive into national law, according to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Only six member states have introduced legislation to implement the directive.
