In our country, even the average salary is one and a half times less than in Luxembourg - the "minimum wage."
Latvia's minimum monthly wage in 2026 is among the lowest group of minimum wages in the European Union, not exceeding 1000 euros per month, according to the latest data from Eurostat reported by the DB.LV website. By purchasing power parity, the situation is even worse — only Estonia is behind us.
The minimum wage in the European Union ranges from 620 euros per month in Bulgaria to 2704 euros per month in Luxembourg. Out of the 27 EU countries, the minimum wage was set in 22 countries as of January 1, 2026. The minimum wage is not established in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Austria, and Finland. In the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), a minimum wage is not set. Among the 10 candidate countries for EU membership, seven have established a minimum wage (Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Albania, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine). Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Kosovo do not have a minimum wage.
The group of minimum wages below 1000 euros includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, and Bulgaria.
In terms of purchasing power parity, it can only be emphasized that Lithuania is close to Slovenia and is just 100 euros short of the "top league." Only two countries fall into the group with the lowest indicator, that is, below 1000 — Latvia (954) and Estonia (886).
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