Eurostat has released new data on minimum wages in 29 European countries. While Luxembourg leads nominally, purchasing power parity tells a very different story, with Croatia and Serbia among the gainers.
The European Union's statistical office, Eurostat, released data on minimum wages for the second half of the year on August 4, 2026. An analysis of 29 European countries shows that only eight nations increased their gross minimum wage between January and July 2026, while inflation in the eurozone stood at 3.2 percent over the same period. This means that minimum wage workers in many countries have effectively lost some purchasing power.
In nominal terms, Luxembourg had by far the highest gross minimum wage in July 2026, at €2,771. It was followed by Ireland at €2,391, Germany at €2,343, the Netherlands at €2,338, and Belgium at €2,234. These five countries were the only ones to cross the €2,000 gross monthly threshold, with France (€1,867) coming closest to that group.
However, when purchasing power is adjusted for the cost of living and expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS)-a synthetic unit that allows for fairer comparisons-Germany takes the top spot with 2,164 PPS. Luxembourg drops to second place with 2,108 PPS, followed by the Netherlands (2,023 PPS), Belgium (1,922 PPS), and Ireland (1,756 PPS).
Croatia, with a gross minimum wage of €1,050, falls into the group of nine countries with wages between €1,000 and €2,000. This category also includes Slovenia (€1,482), Spain (€1,425), Lithuania (€1,153), Poland (€1,119), Cyprus (€1,088), and Greece and Portugal, both at €1,073.
When the purchasing power standard is applied, Croatia moves up three places on the list. Bulgaria makes a similar gain, while Serbia jumps five positions. The biggest winners are Romania and North Macedonia, which each advanced eight places. Romania climbed from 20th to 12th, and North Macedonia from 24th to 16th.
More than half of the countries surveyed-15 in total-have a gross minimum wage below €1,000. At the bottom are Ukraine (€169) and Moldova (€313). Within the EU, Bulgaria has the lowest minimum wage (€620), but interestingly, four candidate countries surpass it: Turkey (€621), North Macedonia (€624), Montenegro (€670), and Serbia (€743).
In terms of purchasing power, North Macedonia (1,142 PPS) and Serbia (1,094 PPS) overtake as many as seven EU member states, including Malta, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. At the very bottom of the PPS scale within the EU are Estonia with 935 PPS and Latvia with 938 PPS. The lowest value in the entire analysis is Albania, with 705 PPS.
Between January and July 2026, only eight countries raised their minimum wage. North Macedonia leads with a 6.9 percent increase, followed by Romania and Estonia, both at 6.8 percent. Belgium (5.8 percent) and Greece (4.5 percent) also saw notable increases, while raises in Luxembourg (2.5 percent), France (2.4 percent), and the Netherlands (1.9 percent) were more modest.
On the other hand, the biggest loser in terms of purchasing power is Estonia, which fell from 16th to 26th place. Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Cyprus each dropped four positions. Five EU member states-Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Finland-do not have a statutory national minimum wage at all.
Inflation has hit Turkey particularly hard, with the highest rate in Europe. Between December 2025 and June 2026, it reached 17.8 percent. Since Turkey now adjusts its minimum wage only once a year, workers continuously lose purchasing power. An additional problem is that nearly 40 percent of employees in Turkey earn exactly the minimum wage. High inflation rates were also recorded in Malta (8.2 percent), Cyprus (5.4 percent), and the Netherlands (4.7 percent) between January and July 2026.
