Minimum Wage in Europe, 2026
Twenty-two EU countries set a national minimum wage. It runs from €620 in Bulgaria to €2,704 in Luxembourg — a four-fold gap inside one single market. Five countries set no national minimum at all.
Full table, effective 1 January 2026
Czechia sits near the bottom, Germany near the top. That gap is the entire economic case for the A1 route.
Source: Eurostat, 30 January 2026
| # | Country | Per month | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxembourg | €2,704 | — |
| 2 | Ireland | €2,391 | — |
| 3 | Germany | €2,343 | €13.90 |
| 4 | Netherlands | €2,295 | €14.71 |
| 5 | Belgium | €2,112 | — |
| 6 | France | €1,823 | €12.02 |
| 7 | Spain | €1,381 | — |
| 8 | Slovenia | €1,278 | — |
| 9 | Lithuania | €1,153 | — |
| 10 | Poland | €1,139 | — |
| 11 | Cyprus | €1,088 | — |
| 12 | Portugal | €1,073 | — |
| 13 | Croatia | €1,050 | — |
| 14 | Greece | €1,027 | — |
| 15 | Malta | €994 | — |
| 16 | Czech Republic | €924 | €5.55 |
| 17 | Slovakia | €915 | — |
| 18 | Estonia | €886 | — |
| 19 | Hungary | €838 | — |
| 20 | Romania | €795 | — |
| 21 | Latvia | €780 | — |
| 22 | Bulgaria | €620 | — |
Source: Eurostat, 30 January 2026. Hourly rates are shown only where the country publishes one officially — we have not converted monthly figures into hourly, because contracted hours differ by country.
No statutory minimum
Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland, Sweden set no national minimum wage. Pay floors there come from sector-level collective agreements, and in practice they are often higher than the statutory minimums above. The absence of a number does not mean the absence of a floor.
Changes since the January table
| Country | What changed |
|---|---|
| France | From 1 June 2026 the SMIC rose to €1,867.02 per month / €12.31 per hour after an unscheduled indexation triggered by inflation. Source |
| Netherlands | From 1 July 2026 the hourly minimum is €14.99. The Netherlands has had no fixed monthly minimum since 2024 — it depends on contracted hours. Source |
| Germany | Already legislated: the minimum rises to €14.60 per hour on 1 January 2027. Source |
What this table means if you are planning to come and work
Czechia sits at €924 — 7th from the bottom of the twenty-two. Germany is at €2,343, two and a half times higher. If you were choosing purely on the legal minimum, you would never choose Czechia.
But the minimum wage is not the number that decides where a non-EU worker can actually go. The countries at the top of this table are the hardest to enter directly: they require language, a sponsoring employer willing to run the paperwork, and consular appointments booked months out. The countries lower down are the ones that issue work permits to people without European experience.
That is the whole logic of the Czech route. You enter where entry is possible, and you reach the high-wage countries afterwards — legally, on a posting, without a second visa application.
Czech minimum wage in detail
| Monthly minimum 2026 | 22,400 Kč (€924) |
| Hourly minimum 2026 | 134.4 Kč (€5.55) |
| Increase on 2025 | +1,600 Kč per month |
| In force since | 1 January 2026 |
| Net, single person | roughly 19,000 Kč |
Frequently asked questions
Which EU country has the highest minimum wage?
Luxembourg at €2,704 per month, followed by Ireland and Germany. The lowest is Bulgaria at €620.
Do all EU countries have a minimum wage?
No. Five do not set one nationally — Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland, Sweden. In those countries pay floors are set sector by sector through collective agreements, and they are often higher than the statutory minimums elsewhere.
Is the minimum wage what I would actually earn?
Rarely. It is a legal floor, not a market rate. In Czech industry, warehouse and production jobs pay well above the minimum — the minimum matters mainly as the number an employer cannot legally go below.
Is the minimum wage gross or net?
Gross. In Czechia the 2026 minimum of 22,400 Kč gross works out at roughly 19,000 Kč net for a single person with no dependants.
How often do these figures change?
Most countries adjust on 1 January. Some adjust mid-year — France indexed again in June 2026, and the Netherlands changes twice a year. We note those separately below the table.
Minimum is not the market rate
Tell us your trade and we will tell you what the positions we actually have pay — net, after the housing deduction.