Highest minimum wages in Slovenia and Poland

Last week, Eurostat released data on gross minimum wages across the European Union as of January 2025. Luxembourg reports the highest minimum wage at 2638, while the minimum wages in the CEE region are less than half of this amount. Slovenia leads with a minimum wage of 1278, followed by Poland at 1091. All other countries in the region have minimum wages set below 1000. Croatia is close to this threshold at 970, whereas Czechia (826), Slovakia (816), and Romania (814) have similar minimum wage levels despite differing median salaries. An interesting perspective emerges when adjusting minimum wages by the purchasing power standard (PPS). Considering price levels, Poland has the highest adjusted minimum wage at PPS 1523, followed by Slovenia at PPS 1427 and Romania at PPS 1340. Conversely, the lowest paid employees in Slovakia and Czechia earn PPS 973 and PPS 935, respectively. However, the comparison of gross minimum wages may be misleading due to local differences in social contributions, personal income tax, and tax allowances.