EU countries by gender pay gap (unadjusted)

Estonia had the highest gender pay gap (unadjusted) of 26 EU countries in 2021, at 20.3%. Luxembourg had the lowest, at -0.2%. The median was 11% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 12.3%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest20.3Estonia

Lowest-0.2Luxembourg

Median1126 EU countries

European Union (27)12.3History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Under 0
0 to 9.3
9.3 to 14
14 and over
No data

%, 2021. Red areas are below zero and blue areas above it. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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, 2021

%. 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	2021 (%)	Change on 2020
1	Estonia	20.3	-0.7 pts
2	Austria	19.1	-0.1 pts
3	Germany	17.6	-0.7 pts
4	Hungary Provisional	17.2	+0.1 pts
5	Finland	16.9	0 pts
6	Slovakia	16	+0.6 pts
7	Latvia	15.9	-7.3 pts
8	Czechia	15.4	-1.3 pts
9	Netherlands	14.3	-0.4 pts
10	Denmark	14.2	+0.4 pts
11	France	13.7	-1.3 pts
12	Bulgaria	11.9	-0.6 pts
13	Cyprus	11	+1.1 pts
14	Lithuania	10.9	-1.4 pts
15	Sweden	10.3	-0.2 pts
16	Ireland	9.9	+0.9 pts
17	Spain	9.3	0 pts
18	Croatia	7.3	-1.4 pts
19	Malta	7.2	-0.7 pts
20	Portugal	7.1	-1.2 pts
21	Poland	6.2	+1.7 pts
22	Italy	4.7	+0.7 pts
23	Slovenia	2.7	+0.3 pts
24	Belgium	1.8	-1.4 pts
25	Romania	1.4	+0.5 pts
26	Luxembourg	-0.2	-0.5 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. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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), 2021) [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), 2021. 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=2021. 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), 2021. 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=2021.

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), 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_gender_2021,
  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), 2021}},
  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=2021. 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), 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/gender-pay-gap/eu-countries?period=2021.
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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Questions

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

Estonia, with 20.3% in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Luxembourg, with -0.2% in 2021.

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. 1 EU countries have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.