Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers by country
For cross-country comparisons, data on minimum wage levels are further supplemented with another measure of minimum wages relative to average wages, that is, the ratio of minimum wages to median earnings of full-time employees. Median rather than mean earnings provide a better basis for international comparisons as...
What the numbers show
Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers is currently reported for 31 countries. The highest value is 68.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in Costa Rica; the lowest is 17.15 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in United States.
The median across all reporting countries is 42.96 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees, and the mean is 44.02 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.
Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 9 fell. The largest increase was in Mexico (up 104.7%), and the largest decrease in Türkiye (down 32.5%).
Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica | 68.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 1 | Slovenia | 48.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 0.7% | rising |
| 2 | Mexico | 61.14 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 104.7% | falling |
| 2 | Poland | 47.26 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 15.0% | rising |
| 2 | Croatia | 46.5 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 22.5% | rising |
| 3 | Colombia | 58.51 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 3 | Lithuania | 41.9 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 0.0% | rising |
| 4 | New Zealand | 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 6.9% | falling |
| 4 | Netherlands | 40.63 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 51.11 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 26.0% | rising |
| 5 | Latvia | 38.06 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 8.3% | rising |
| 6 | France | 50.42 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 0.2% | rising |
| 6 | Estonia | 36.57 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 3.7% | rising |
| 7 | Australia | 46.43 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 4.8% | falling |
| 7 | Türkiye | 26.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 32.5% | rising |
| 8 | Spain | 46.25 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 47.8% | falling |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 45.49 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 2.9% | rising |
| 10 | Chile | 44.83 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2024 | down 0.4% | rising |
| 11 | Romania | 44.18 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 10.1% | rising |
| 12 | Germany | 43.95 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 3.3% | flat |
| 13 | Canada | 42.96 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 11.0% | falling |
| 14 | Belgium | 42.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 8.6% | falling |
| 15 | Portugal | 42.64 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 5.9% | flat |
| 16 | Japan | 40.38 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 19.2% | rising |
| 17 | Greece | 40.18 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 11.7% | falling |
| 18 | Czechia | 39.85 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 20.4% | rising |
| 19 | Israel | 39.68 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 6.3% | rising |
| 20 | Bulgaria | 38.92 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 2.5% | falling |
| 21 | Hungary | 38.85 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 2.1% | rising |
| 22 | Ireland | 38.67 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | up 15.8% | rising |
| 23 | United States | 17.15 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 2025 | down 31.9% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 47.21 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees
- Slovak Republic 43.46 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees
About this data
For cross-country comparisons, data on minimum wage levels are further supplemented with another measure of minimum wages relative to average wages, that is, the ratio of minimum wages to median earnings of full-time employees. Median rather than mean earnings provide a better basis for international comparisons as it accounts for differences in earnings dispersion across countries. However, while median of basic earnings of full-time workers - i.e. excluding overtime and bonus payments - are ideally, the preferred measure of average wages for international comparisons of minimum-to-median earnings, they are not available for a large number of countries. Minimum relative to mean earnings of full-time workers are also provided.