Eurostat has published the latest data on the minimum wage in the European Union and candidate countries. According to purchasing power standards (PPS), the greatest progress is recorded in Macedonia and Romania, which have seen a jump of eight places, followed by Serbia, which has progressed by five places.
According to this parameter, Macedonia is a country that ranks ahead of seven European Union member states. According to this indicator, Macedonia, with 1.142 purchasing power units, ranks ahead of Malta, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
– When comparing the rankings in nominal terms and PPS across the 27 countries, the biggest winners are Romania and Macedonia. Romania rises from 20th to 12th place, while Macedonia rises from 24th to 16th place, both advancing by eight places. Serbia advances by five places, Croatia and Bulgaria by three places. The biggest loser is Estonia, which falls from 16th to 26th place, while Latvia, the Czech Republic and Cyprus also lose four places, Eurostat said.
Among EU member states, according to this parameter, Germany ranks first, followed by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
From January to July 2026, Macedonia recorded the largest increase in the minimum wage among the analyzed countries – 6,9 percent. It is followed by Romania and Estonia with 6,8 percent each, Belgium with 5,8 percent, Greece with 4,5 percent, Luxembourg with 2,5 percent, France with 2,4 percent and the Netherlands with 1,9 percent.
Eurostat data shows that only eight out of 29 European countries have increased their gross minimum wage since January. Luxembourg is in first place with a gross minimum wage of €2.771, followed by Ireland with €2.391, Germany with €2.343, the Netherlands with €2.338 and Belgium with €2.234.
Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, as candidate countries for the European Union, have a higher gross minimum wage than Bulgaria, which is an EU member.
Among the member states of the European Union, Bulgaria has the lowest gross minimum wage - 620 euros, while some candidate countries for the European Union have a higher minimum wage, such as Macedonia with 624 euros, Montenegro with 670 euros, and Serbia with 743 euros.
