The level of the minimum wage in Malta is about half way between the highest and the lowest in the bloc – between Spain and Greece - according to data issued today by Eurostat. 

Rwenty-two out of the 28 Member States of the European Union have national minimum wages. They range from €184 per month in Bulgaria to €1,923 in Luxembourg. However, when adjusted for differences in purchasing power, the disparities between Member States are reduced from a ratio of 1 to 10 in euro to a ratio of 1 to 4 in purchasing power standards (PPS). 

For those countries where the national minimum wage is not fixed at a monthly rate (i.e. Germany, Ireland, France, Malta, the United Kingdom and the United States) the level of the minimum wage is converted into a monthly rate according to a standard number of hours worked per month that may differ across countries.

The 22 EU Member States that have national minimum wages can be divided into three main groups based on the level in euro. In January 2015, ten Member States had minimum wages below €500 per month: Bulgaria (€184), Romania (€218), Lithuania (€300), the Czech Republic (€332), Hungary (€333), Latvia (€360), Slovakia (€380), Estonia (€390), Croatia (€396) and Poland (€410). In five other Member States, minimum wages were between €500 and €1 000 per month: Portugal (€589), Greece (€684), Malta (€720), Spain (€757) and Slovenia (€791).

In the remaining seven Member States, minimum wages were well above €1 000 per month: the United Kingdom (€1,379), France (€1,458), Ireland (€1,462), Germany (€1,473), Belgium and the Netherlands (both €1,502) and Luxembourg (€1,923). For comparison, the federal minimum wage in the United States was just over €1 000 per month (€1,035) in January 2015.  

(in € per month)

: Data not available                - Not applicable                          * 1 July 2008