The share of employees paid the minimum wage differs widely across Europe. Romania is among the states with the highest percentages, ranking 4th in the European Union among the countries with the most employees paid the minimum wage.
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According to Eurostat, around 13 million employees in 21 EU countries earn the minimum wage or even less. The European Commission actively supports fair and adequate minimum wages to ensure a decent living for all workers, according to Euronews.
Eurostat estimates that, in 2022, the share of employees earning less than 105% of the minimum wage varied from 2.6% in the Czech Republic to 13% in Bulgaria. As the notion of income used in the definition of the minimum wage differs from that in the wage surveys, Eurostat sets the threshold at 105% of the minimum wage (an increase of 5%) to approximate the actual number of workers paid at the minimum wage level.
Although the data reflects the situation in 2022, it was only published at the end of 2025, as Eurostat publishes these estimates every four years to track long-term trends and provide a clearer picture.
Romania, among the states with the highest percentages
The share of workers earning the minimum wage or less exceeds 10% in seven Member States. In addition to Bulgaria, in first place, they are: France (12.7%), Slovenia (12.6%), Romania (10.5%), Greece (10.2%), Poland (10.1%) and Hungary (10%).
At the opposite end, the Czech Republic (2.6%), Portugal (3.1%), Estonia (3.3%), the Netherlands (3.5%), Malta (3.5%) and Spain (3.6%) have the lowest shares — all below 4%.
Among Europe's major economies, France has the highest proportion of employees paid the minimum wage (12.7%), compared with 8% in Germany, 6.5% in the UK and 3.6% in Spain.
Italy, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Finland do not have a statutory minimum wage.
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How many people earn minimum wage
The exact number of workers paid the minimum wage is difficult to determine and often varies by data source, according to the OECD. Eurostat provides its own estimates, but small firms are often excluded, meaning the real number is likely to be higher.
Based on 2022 data, France had the largest number of minimum wage earners in 2024 — about 3.5 million people — followed by Germany with 3.2 million.
In total, there were 12.8 million employees paid the minimum wage in the 21 EU countries analyzed. Britain had around 1.9 million and Turkey had 11.2 million — just 1.6 million less than the combined total of the 21 member states analysed.
The minimum wage and income inequality
The report “The impact of the minimum wage on income inequality in the EU”published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, shows that minimum wage policies influence national income distribution in member states and can therefore also affect income distribution in the EU population as a whole.
The purchasing power of the minimum wage varies considerably across Europe. The top five countries with the highest minimum wages expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS) are Luxembourg (2,035), Germany (1,989), the Netherlands (1,937), Belgium (1,812) and Ireland (1,653).
The lowest values are recorded in Estonia (886), Latvia (905), Bulgaria (922), Czech Republic (936) and Slovakia (963).
The EU candidate countries — North Macedonia (1,069), Turkey (1,062) and Montenegro (1,058) — have higher PPS minimum wages than several EU member states.
In October 2022, the European Commission adopted a directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU, with the aim of ensuring that workers' incomes are sufficient to guarantee them a decent standard of living in all member states.
