As measured in October 2018, the highest median gross hourly earnings were recorded in Denmark (€27.2), ahead of Luxembourg (€19.6), Sweden (€18.2), Belgium and Ireland (€18.0 each), Finland (€17.5) and Germany (€17.2). In contrast, the lowest median gross hourly earnings were registered in Bulgaria (€2.4) followed by Romania (€3.7), Hungary and Lithuania (€4.4 each), Latvia (€4.9), Poland (€5.0), Croatia and Portugal (€5.4 each) as well as in Slovakia (€5.6). In other words, across Member States, the highest national median gross hourly earnings was 11 times higher than the lowest when expressed in euro.
Median gross hourly earnings vary by 1 to 4 between Member States when expressed in PPS
Across Member States, the highest national median gross hourly earnings were 4 times higher than the lowest when expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), which eliminates price level differences between countries. As measured in October 2018, the highest median gross hourly earnings in PPS were recorded in Denmark (19.2 PPS), ahead of Germany (16.1 PPS), Belgium (15.7 PPS), Luxembourg (15.1 PPS), Sweden (14.7 PPS) and the Netherlands (14.3 PPS). At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest median gross hourly earnings were registered in Bulgaria (4.6 PPS) followed by Portugal (6.0 PPS), Latvia (6.4 PPS), Lithuania (6.5 PPS), Hungary (6.8 PPS) and Romania (6.9 PPS).
For more information, you can read our Statistics Explained article Earnings statistics.
Note: The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
To contact us, please visit our User Support page.
For press queries, please contact our Media Support.