Maximum Average Wages payee leading European countries

Luxembourg had the highest average wages in Europe in 2025, at approximately 89,700 U.S. dollars when adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP) according to Urostat annual report.

Greece, which had an average annual wages of less than 30,238 U.S dollars a year, had the lowest among the countries provided in this statistic.

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 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.