EU countries by real hourly minimum wage

Luxembourg had the highest real hourly minimum wage of 21 EU countries in 2018, at 16.18 USD at PPP. Malta had the lowest, at 1.75 USD at PPP. The median was 7.87 USD at PPP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Highest16.18Luxembourg

Lowest1.75Malta

Median7.8721 EU countries

All EU countries, 2018

USD at PPP. Source: OECD, OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 USD at PPP	Change on 2017
1	Luxembourg	16.18	-0.5%
2	France	15.83	-0.6%
3	Netherlands	15.47	+0.1%
4	Germany	15.23	-1.7%
5	Belgium	14.7	-1%
6	Ireland	13.01	+2.8%
7	Spain	11.61	+2.3%
8	Slovenia	10.34	+2.9%
9	Poland	8.94	+3.1%
10	Portugal	8.11	+3.1%
11	Romania	7.87	+27.4%
12	Czechia	7.36	+8.6%
13	Slovakia	7.02	+7.7%
14	Greece	6.75	-0.6%
15	Estonia	6.66	+3.3%
16	Lithuania	6.6	+2.8%
17	Latvia	6.4	+10.4%
18	Hungary	6.25	+5.1%
19	Croatia	6.04	+3.4%
20	Bulgaria	5.27	+7.7%
21	Malta	1.75	-0.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Statutory minimum wage converted to an hourly rate, deflated with the consumer price index to the OECD's current base year and converted to US dollars with purchasing power parities for private consumption of that year.

Only countries with a national statutory minimum wage are covered. The OECD averages rates that change during the year, so a value can differ from the rate in force on a given date, and it restates every year when the price base moves.

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

OECD. OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html

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

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW) (EU countries by real hourly minimum wage, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE

MLA 9

OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW), EU countries by real hourly minimum wage, 2018. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/real-hourly-minimum-wage/eu-countries?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW). EU countries by real hourly minimum wage, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/real-hourly-minimum-wage/eu-countries?period=2018.

Harvard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW), EU countries by real hourly minimum wage, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/real-hourly-minimum-wage/eu-countries?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{organisation_eu_countries_by_real_2018,
  author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
  title = {{OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD\_EARNINGS@RMW): EU countries by real hourly minimum wage, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/real-hourly-minimum-wage/eu-countries?period=2018. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD\_EARNINGS@RMW). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_EARNINGS\%40RMW\&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI  - OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW): EU countries by real hourly minimum wage, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/real-hourly-minimum-wage/eu-countries?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/real-hourly-minimum-wage/eu-countries?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EARNINGS%40RMW&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER  -

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest real hourly minimum wage?

Luxembourg, with 16.18 USD at PPP in 2018, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which EU country has the lowest real hourly minimum wage?

Malta, with 1.75 USD at PPP in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Real minimum wages: hourly, US dollars at constant prices and PPPs for private consumption (DSD_EARNINGS@RMW). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Real hourly minimum wage: other rankings

Countries