Statutory minimum wages, 2023

Gross and nominal statutory minimum wages are expressed in euros and in monthly payments. Data for each country are from January 2010 to January 2023, except for Germany and Cyprus (which adopted a statutory minimum wage in January 2015 and January 2023 respectively).

Methods of conversion

• Converted values.
• Rates for non-euro zone countries (Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania) were converted to euro by applying the exchange rate applicable at the end of the previous reference month. Conversions were also carried out for Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Croatia for periods prior to accessing the euro zone.
• Rates for countries with more than 12 wage payments per year (Greece, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia) were converted by dividing the annual sum of the minimum wage by 12 calendar months.
• Rates for countries where the minimum wage is defined as an hourly rate (Germany, Ireland) were converted to monthly rates by applying the weekly working hours provided by Eurostat, corresponding to 38 hours for Germany and 39 hours for Ireland.
• The rate for Malta, where the minimum wage is defined at weekly frequency, was converted to a monthly rate considering 4.33 weeks per calendar month.

Applicability

The data represent the minimum wage applicable on 1 January of the given reference year.

• The large increase in Bulgaria is explained by the fact that the new rate for 2022 (LEV 710 or €363) came into effect only in April 2022 (so the growth rate between January 2022 and January 2023 is taking into account both the 2022 and 2023 upgrades).
• As of January 2023, a new rate for 2023 is still being negotiated and not yet in effect in Spain.
• Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden are not included in this visualisation as they do not have a statutory minimum wage.