Minimum Wage by Country (2026)

Key numbers at a glance

The benchmark used throughout is the unweighted EU average of about €1,379 gross a month across the 22 statutory rates in mid-2026 (Eurostat, table earn_mw_cur). The pan-European tables — every rate side by side, plus the purchasing-power league — are on the comparison page, and the methodology is summarised on the home page.

Band 1 — over €1,500 a month

The western cluster: six countries where the statutory floor exceeds €1,500 gross a month. Automatic indexation (Belgium, France, Luxembourg) and semi-annual adjustment (the Netherlands) keep these rates moving during the year, not just every January.

Band 2 — €1,000 to €1,500 a month

Southern and central Europe: eight countries, including the three 14-payment systems (Spain, Portugal, Greece) whose annualised equivalents land here, the Baltic leader Lithuania, and Slovenia — the highest floor in central and eastern Europe after its 11.4% rise for 2026.

Band 3 — under €1,000 a month

Eight countries in the catch-up zone, all of which raised rates faster than euro-area inflation for 2026: Hungary +15.2%, Slovakia +12.1%, Romania +6.8% mid-year, Estonia +6.8%. Bulgaria's €620 remains the EU's lowest statutory rate.

No statutory minimum — collective agreement systems

Five EU members legislate no minimum wage. Their floors come from collective agreements — binding on all employers in Austria and effectively universal in Finland, coverage-based in Denmark and Sweden, contract-driven with gaps in Italy. The typical lowest levels below are indicative agreed entry rates, not legal rates.

Outside the EU

Three systems complete the map. The United Kingdom runs an age-tiered hourly National Living Wage (£12.71 from April 2026). Norway generalises union-agreed rates into law in nine industries. Switzerland leaves floors to cantonal law ― five cantons have them, topped by Geneva's CHF 24.59 an hour — and to generally binding collective agreements elsewhere.