Romania has got one of the lowest minimum wages in the EU. The only people who earn less than we do, are our neighbors in Bulgaria, according to EUROSTAT.
In Romania, the minimum wage is € 179, while in Bulgaria it is € 159. On the other hand, we and our Bulgarian neighbors are champions at raising minimum wage. Over the past 10 years, it has increased by 183% in Bulgaria and by 145% in Romania.
The highest minimum wage across the EU is earned by the residents of Luxembourg. Their income starts at €1,874 a month.
Ranked second in the top based on Eurostat data is Belgium, where the minimum wage is € 1,502. We refer here to the gross salary. The net salary is somewhat lower. Not bad, anyway.
Third runner up is the Netherlands. In the country of tulips, the lowest wages cannot drop below €1.478.
Even if they haven’t got one of the top three positions, France and Ireland are not doing badly either. In France the minimum wage is €1,430 per month, while the Ireland it is €1,462.
Over the last 10 years, the minimum wages increased by 29% in Belgium and 36% in Luxembourg. In the Netherlands, the increase was slightly lower, 18% while in France it was 30%, and in Ireland 36%