In 2024, Greece had the second lowest average annual gross wage at €17,954, higher only than Bulgaria (€15,387), with Hungary (€18,461) ranking third among countries where wages are under €20,000, according to Eurostat data, which put the EU average at €39,808.
The highest recorded wage is in Luxembourg (€82,969), 5.4 times higher than the lowest, while wages exceed €50,000 in four other countries: Denmark (€71,565), Ireland (€61,051), Belgium (€59,632), Austria (€58,600), and Germany (€53,791).
Analysts note that countries with the highest wages tend to have a large share of GDP from “high value-added” sectors (e.g., finance, IT, industry), as well as strong trade unions and powerful collective bargaining agreements.
One PPS unit (Purchasing Power Standard) can theoretically buy the same quantity of goods and services in every country.
However, when wages are adjusted for purchasing power (PPS), Greece falls to last place among EU countries at 21,644 PPS, while Bulgaria, for example, rises three places to 27,059 PPS, according to Euronews calculations.
The highest wage remains Luxembourg at 55,051 PPS, but the gap between countries falls to 2.5, with the European average staying close to 40,000 PPS.
Apart from Luxembourg, the top-ranked countries are Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and Austria, all with more than 48,500 PPS, while besides Greece and Bulgaria, the countries with the lowest purchasing power are Slovakia, Hungary, and Estonia, all below 28,000 PPS.
Source: Euronews
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