The Minimum Wage in Bulgaria is 286 Euro, in Luxembourg - 2071 Euro

Income inequality in the EU continues to be substantial.

Bulgaria remains the country with the lowest gross minimum wage - 286 euros (560 leva), according to Eurostat data for January 2019. The highest minimum wage in the EU is received by the inhabitants of Luxembourg - 2071 euros.

In 22 out of the 28 EU Member States there are national minimum wages, with the difference between the lowest and the highest being nearly 7 times. Bulgaria has traditionally ranked last, although in 2019 the lowest wage was increased from 510 leva to 560 leva. Minimum wages do not apply to Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland and Sweden.

Measured through Purchasing Power Parity, differences are declining as the price level of poorer countries is lower. Thus, the difference between the lowest wage (in Bulgaria) and the highest (in Luxembourg) shrinks to 3 times.

According to Eurostat data in nine Member States, minimum wages vary between € 400 and € 600 per month. They are all in the eastern part of the EU - Latvia (€ 430), Romania (€ 446), Hungary (€ 464), Croatia (€ 506), Czech Republic (€ 519), Slovakia (€ 520) , Estonia (€ 540) and Lithuania (€ 555).

In the southern part of the union, the minimum wages in five Member States are between EUR 650 and a little over EUR 1000 per month - Greece (€ 684), Portugal (€ 700), Malta (€ 762), Slovenia (€ 887) and Spain 1 050).

In the other seven countries located in the western and northern parts of the continent, the minimum is over € 1450 per month - UK (€ 1 453), France (€ 1 521), Germany (€ 1 557), Belgium (€ 1 594), The Netherlands (€ 1 616), Ireland (€ 1 656) and Luxembourg (€ 2 071).

For comparison, the federal minimum wage in the US in January 2019 is 1098 euros per month.

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