EU Minimum Wage vs Median Salary: How Big Is the Gap by Country?

In 22 of the 27 EU member states, a national minimum wage is set by law. Five member states - Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden - have no statutory national minimum wage.

For the 22 countries that do, how far that floor sits below the midpoint of actual earnings varies considerably. Eurostat measures this through the Kaitz index: the minimum wage expressed as a share of median gross earnings. A higher share means the minimum wage sits closer to the median; a lower share means a wider gap.

The figures in this article are for reference year 2024, the latest year for which earnings data are available. They are based on the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES 2022), extrapolated to 2024 using the annual Labour Cost Index. Overtime and shift payments are excluded from the median earnings calculation. The median covers both full-time and part-time workers, with part-time earnings converted into full-time equivalents. For Germany, France and Ireland, where minimum wages are set on an hourly basis, Eurostat calculated the ratio against median hourly earnings rather than median monthly earnings.

The Overall Range: 44% to 69%

In 2024, the minimum wage to median gross earnings ratio among EU countries with a national minimum wage ranged from 44% in Estonia to 69% in Portugal.

Portugal's 69% was the highest in the EU: the minimum wage there sits closer to the median than in any other member state with available data. Estonia's 44% was the lowest: the gap between minimum wage and median earnings is wider there than anywhere else in the EU.

Where the Gap Is Widest

In 2 EU countries, the minimum wage stood below 50% of median gross earnings in 2024:

• Estonia: 44%
• Latvia: 48%

In both countries, the minimum wage was less than half of median gross earnings.

Where the Gap Is Narrowest

In 8 EU countries, the minimum wage exceeded 60% of median gross earnings in 2024: Portugal, Poland, France, Slovenia, Romania, Greece, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Portugal recorded the highest ratio in this group at 69%.

The Middle Band: 50% to 60%

In 12 EU countries, the minimum wage fell between 50% and 60% of median gross earnings in 2024. These countries include Germany, Croatia, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czechia and Lithuania. Malta and Belgium both recorded a ratio of exactly 50%.

Minimum Wage Levels and Growth in Absolute Terms

In absolute terms, monthly minimum wages across the EU ranged from €620 in Bulgaria to €2,771 in Luxembourg as of July 2026, according to Eurostat. In euro terms, the highest minimum wage was 4.5 times the lowest. After adjusting for price-level differences between countries using Purchasing Power Standards, the spread narrows: the highest minimum wage was 2.3 times the lowest in PPS terms.

Minimum wages have also grown at different rates. The average annual growth rate between July 2016 and July 2026 was highest in Lithuania (+11.7%), followed by Romania (+11.6%), Bulgaria (+11.2%), Poland (+10.4%) and Hungary (+10.0%). The lowest average annual growth rates were recorded in France (+2.4%), Malta (+3.2%), Luxembourg (+3.7%) and Belgium (+3.8%).