EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted)

Estonia had the highest gender pay gap (unadjusted) of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 21.8%. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 1.4%. The median was 13% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 14.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest21.8Estonia

Lowest1.4Luxembourg

Median1327 EU countries

European Union (27)14.4History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Under 9
9 to 12
12 to 14
14 to 19
19 and over

%, 2018. Source: Eurostat, Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2018

%. Source: Eurostat, Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Estonia	21.8	-3.1 pts
2	Austria	20.4	-0.3 pts
3	Czechia	20.1	-1 pts
3	Germany	20.1	-0.3 pts
5	Slovakia	19.8	-0.3 pts
6	Latvia	19.6	-0.2 pts
7	Finland	16.9	-0.2 pts
8	France	16.7	+0.4 pts
9	Netherlands	14.7	-0.4 pts
10	Denmark	14.6	-0.2 pts
11	Hungary	14.2	-1.7 pts
12	Lithuania	14	-1.2 pts
13	Bulgaria	13.9	-0.4 pts
14	Malta	13	-0.2 pts
15	Sweden	12.1	-0.4 pts
16	Spain	11.9	-1.6 pts
17	Croatia	11.4	-0.9 pts
18	Ireland	11.3	-3.1 pts
19	Cyprus	10.4	-0.8 pts
19	Greece	10.4	n/a
21	Slovenia	9.3	+0.9 pts
22	Portugal	8.9	-1.9 pts
23	Poland	8.5	+1.5 pts
24	Belgium	5.8	0 pts
25	Italy	5.5	+0.5 pts
26	Romania	2.2	-0.7 pts
27	Luxembourg	1.4	-1.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and of women, as a percentage of men's average gross hourly earnings. Employees in enterprises with 10 or more employees, in industry, construction and services except public administration and defence (NACE Rev. 2 B to S without O).

Unadjusted: it compares averages for all women and all men and does not account for differences in occupation, sector, hours or experience. A negative value means women earn more per hour on average. Built from the four-yearly Structure of Earnings Survey (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), with national estimates for the years in between; the latest year is usually provisional.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2) (EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted), 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table

MLA 9

Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2), EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted), 2018. Eurostat, European Commission, 26 Feb. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2018. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2). EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted), 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2018.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2), EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted), 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2018 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_gender_2018,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn\_gr\_gpgr2): EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted), 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2018. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn\_gr\_gpgr2). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn\_gr\_gpgr2/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2): EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted), 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/earn_gr_gpgr2/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted) using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"gender_pay_gap","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest gender pay gap (unadjusted)?

Estonia, with 21.8% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest gender pay gap (unadjusted)?

Luxembourg, with 1.4% in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Gender pay gap in unadjusted form, industry, construction and services except public administration (earn_gr_gpgr2). Retrieved 2026-10-18.