Bulgaria has the lowest minimum wage in the EU in January

Bulgaria has the lowest minimum wage among the EU member states in January - 551 euro.

The highest minimum wage in the European Union is in Luxembourg at €2,638, according to Eurostat data. Over the past 10 years, compared to 2015, the lowest wage in Bulgaria has increased by just under 12 percent.

As of January 1, 2025, 22 out of the 27 EU countries have established a national minimum wage, with the exceptions of Denmark, Italy, Austria, Sweden, and Finland.

Based on the level of their national gross monthly minimum wages in euros, effective as of January 1, 2025, EU countries can be classified into three groups.

In the first group, with wages above €1,500 per month, are Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France.

In the second group, with a minimum wage between €1,000 and €1,500 per month, are Spain, Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, Portugal, and Cyprus.

In the third group, with wages below €1,000 per month, are, in addition to Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, and Hungary.

For comparison, Eurostat also provides data for the United States, where the federal minimum wage is €1,210 per month.

Bulgaria is among the EU countries, along with Romania, Lithuania, and Poland, with the highest average growth rate of the minimum wage over the past 10 years, at over 10 percent.

The lowest average annual growth rates among EU countries have been recorded in France (slightly above 2%) and Malta (almost 3%).

Source: BNR