Data item
New
Published: 1 September 2026
Overview of national estimates of the proportion of minimum wage earners, 22 Member States
Data table
Overview of national estimates of the proportion of minimum wage earners, 22 Member States
| Member State | Estimated proportion | Explanations | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | During 2022–2024: (1) 2.51 % (2) 1.21 % |
Average of quarterly data for 2022–2024 (private sector only) (1) Headcount numbers (2) FTE |
Calculations by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents |
| Bulgaria | Around 19 % in 2025 | Approximately 456 700 people were employed at the statutory minimum wage under a full-time employment contract in the second quarter of 2025. The total number of people employed in July 2025 was 2 390 952 | Ministry of Labour and Social Policy National Statistical Institute |
| Cyprus | In 2025: (1) 55 000 employees or 11 % of employees (2) 50 000 employees or 10 % of employees (3) 24 % of interviewees reported to earn the minimum wage, another 13 % below (4) > 20 % |
(3) Survey data (4) Based on the distribution of employment among economic activities that reportedly pay the minimum wage, such as retail, accommodation and catering activities, cleaning and security services, and other services activities |
(1) Minister for Labour and Social Insurance (November 2025) (2) Minister for Labour and Social Insurance, press release (December 2025) (3) SEK based on a study by IMR/University of Nicosia (April 2025) (4) Calculations by the Eurofound national correspondent |
| Croatia | In 2024, 70 000 or 4 % of employees working full-time in legal entities earned the minimum wage, while around 4 % earned 10 % more than the minimum wage In 2025, 4.7 % of employees working full time in legal entities earned up to the minimum wage (EUR 970), while a similar share earned up to EUR 1 020 per month |
2024: Croatian Bureau of Statistics 2025: Novosti website, 30 October 2025 |
|
| Czechia | In 2023, 3.5 %, or 130 000 workers, were on the minimum wage In 2025, 4.9 %, or 180 765 workers, were on the minimum wage |
Based on data from the Information System on Average Earnings, which contains data from a regular survey carried out by Trexima for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs | The regulatory impact assessment on Government Regulation No 285/2024 Coll. |
| Estonia | 10.9 % of all employment contracts (2024) | All payments made during the duration of a contract are converted to full-time equivalent, after which the average monthly remuneration over the duration of the contract is calculated. Payments for which the full-time-equivalent average remuneration is below one quarter of the minimum wage are excluded. Only employment contracts with a duration of at least one calendar month are included. Each contract is given equal weight in the dataset | Bank of Estonia, Labour market review, 2025 |
| France | 12.4 % of the workforce (2.2 million employees) were affected by the increase in the minimum wage in November 2024 | The source survey covers all private sector employers in France (excluding Mayotte), except in four sectors of activity: agriculture, public administration, household activities (private employers) and extraterritorial activities | Directorate for Research, Studies and Statistics, ‘Combien de salariés sont rémunérés au Smic?’, 29 October 2025 |
| Germany | (1) April 2024: 5.9 %, or 2.3 million employees (2) 17 % (6.6 million) were affected by the increase in January 2026 |
(1) Employees at or below the statutory minimum wage (2) Estimate based on national Structure of Earnings Survey data for April 2024 (subsequent increases not considered); therefore, the result is likely to be an overestimate and should be interpreted as an upper limit |
(1) Minimum Wage Commission report, 2025 (2) German Federal Statistical Office press release, 2025 |
| Greece | In March 2025, more than 575 000 employees (22.8 % of all employees) were paid the statutory minimum wage | White-collar and blue-collar workers in paid employment | Data from the Greek Ministry of Labour and the ERGANI information system |
| Hungary | (1) 4.9 % of the workforce (230 000) were standard minimum wage earners in 2024 (2) 8.9 % (414 000) earned the guaranteed minimum wage in 2024 (3) Including those earning between the two, 17 % (782 000) of employees were affected by the increase in the statutory minimum wage in 2024 |
(1) The standard minimum wage (Minimálbér) is the lowest possible legal wage for any full-time worker in Hungary, regardless of education or skills (2) The guaranteed minimum wage (Garantált Bérminimum) applies to jobs that require at least a secondary education or a vocational qualification |
Hungarian National Bank calculations (Inflációs jelentés, 2025, p. 26), based on statistical data that form part of the EU-SILC data |
| Ireland | 201 300 workers earned the national minimum wage or less in 2024. This means that 8.4 % of employees earned the national minimum wage or less in 2024, an increase on 2023's figure of 7.8 %, but still below the 9.9 % figure recorded in 2016 | The 2025 Low Pay Commission report cites relevant Labour Force Survey data | |
| Latvia | 31 392 in 2022 (4.1 %) 32 712 in 2023 (4.2 %) 33 213 in 2024 (4.3 %) |
Percentage of employees earning the minimum wage | Central Statistical Bureau data |
| Lithuania | (1) 9 % (108 100) of all employees earned the statutory monthly minimum wage or less (October 2024) (2) 120 600 employees earned the minimum wage or less (July 2025) |
(1) Statistics Lithuania (2) State Social Insurance Fund Board (Sodra) |
|
| Luxembourg | (1) 8.7 % (2) 6.3 % |
Proportion of minimum wage earners (civil servants excluded) in March 2022 (1) Non-qualified (2) Qualified |
Chamber of Employees, Portrait de la population au salaire minimum, 2023 |
| Malta | (1) In 2022, the number was estimated to be approximately 2 372, equivalent to 0.9 % of full-time employees (2) The 2022 national Structure of Earnings Survey findings report that the share of employees earning less than 105 % of the minimum wage in 2022 amounted to 3.5 % |
(1) In reply to a parliamentary question, the minister cited the Labour Force Survey as the source | Various National Statistics Office sources |
| Netherlands | In 2023, 474 000 jobs: around 3 % of workers aged 25 or older and around 13 % of workers younger than 25 (no general percentage provided) | The figure covers all jobs (full-time and part-time) in the total economy and is based on administrative wage records. It includes all jobs with earnings at or below the statutory minimum wage applicable for the worker's age group. Jobs rather than full-time equivalents are counted. The estimate does not use an equivalised definition or a ±10 % range around the minimum wage | Statistics Netherlands, minimum wages dashboard |
| Poland | (1) 2.1 million people are employees receiving remuneration between the current and the planned minimum wage (2) In 2024, over 3.1 million people were estimated to be affected by the minimum wage increase (3) At least 10 % earn the minimum wage |
(3) Statistics Poland publishes data on the wage distribution in Poland by decile. The most recent data show that in June 2025 the first decile of the wage distribution was precisely equal to the minimum wage (PLN 4 666 (EUR 1 103.94)). This means that at least 10 % of employees earn the minimum wage. The second decile was PLN 5 039 (EUR 1 192.19), meaning that 20 % of employees in Poland earn no more than 108 % of the minimum wage | (1) Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 11 September 2025 on the amount of the minimum remuneration for work and the amount of the minimum hourly rate in 2026 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242) (2) Chancellery of the Prime Minister, press release, 13 June 2024 (3) Statistics Poland, Rocznik statystyczny pracy 2025, 2025 |
| Portugal | (1) 23 % in 2022 (2) 20.5 % in 2025 (3) Over one third of all employees in 2025 |
(3) 1.5 million workers with a basic salary of EUR 920 (or less) | (1) Bank of Portugal, Economic Bulletin, March 2025 (2) Social security remuneration records, for the whole economy, provided by the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security to Jornal de Negócios, Jornal de Negócios website (3) Jornal de Negócios website, 29 December 2025, based on social security data |
| Romania | 831 382 workers (2025); up to 1 759 027 will benefit from the 2026 increase (14.5 % to 31 % of all employees) | Explanatory note accompanying the draft government decision on increasing the minimum wage in July 2026 | |
| Slovakia | (1) 109 000 employees (5 % of the total) received the statutory minimum wage (job demands level 1) in 2025. | (2) The figure equals 5 % of employees in the third quarter of 2025 | (1) Minister for Labour, Social Affairs and Family (information provided at a meeting of the Economic and Social Council on 18 August 2025) (2) Total number of employees calculated using data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic |
| Slovenia | (1) 21 % (2024) (2) 9.2 % (2024) |
Those earning between 95 % and 105 % of the minimum wage (1) Basic wage and wage compensation (2) Including also wage supplements and business performance pay |
Data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (published 14 November 2025): Share of persons in paid employment according to various aggregates of gross earnings components per paid hour, expressed as a proportion of the gross minimum wage per paid hour, by activities (NACE Rev. 2), Slovenia, selected month of the year |
| Spain | (1) 7.4 % (2023), up from 3.5 % (2018) (2) 22.8 % (2023) (3) 7.8 % |
(1) and (2) The figures reflect contractual earnings relative to the legal basic minimum wage (2) Those earning up to 125 % of the minimum wage (3) Among people employed during the year |
(1) and (2) A 2025 analysis by the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility, using data from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives, a longitudinal administrative sample of workers' social security records. It underestimates total national minimum wage reach where part-time work is prevalent or where workers earn slightly above the legal minimum due to seniority or bonuses (3) Data provided by Begoña Cueto and Inmaculada Cebrián at AIReF (Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility) conference in 2025 (31) |
Source: Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
Related content
This data item featured in the following outputs.
Research report
New
1 September 2026
Minimum wage setting across the EU has become an increasingly dynamic and closely watched policy area, shaped by the transposition of the EU Minimum Wage Directive and a decade of sustained real-terms growth in statutory rates. This report examines the wage-setting discussions that took place across Member States and Norway in 2025, focusing on the countries with and without a national minimum wage, the interplay between minimum wages and collective bargaining in low-paid sectors, and the growing role of indicative reference values in shaping national decisions.
