๐ Average Salary Rankings in Europe: Which Countries Pay the Highest?
Taking purchasing power standards (PPS) into account, average annual full-time salaries across Europe reveal significant differences, even after adjustment for living costs. Euronews Business dives into the latest Eurostat data to uncover salary trends in 2023.
๐ถ Key Highlights
EU Average Salary: โฌ37,863 (adjusted for full-time work).
Highest Nominal Salary: Luxembourg - โฌ81,064.
Lowest Nominal Salary: Bulgaria - โฌ13,503.
Narrowed Gaps with PPS: Ratio of highest to lowest decreases from 6:1 to 2.5:1 after adjustment.
๐ฐ Top Performers in Nominal Salaries
These countries exceeded โฌ50,000 annually:
โ๏ธ Luxembourg (โฌ81,064)
โ๏ธ Denmark (โฌ67,604)
โ๏ธ Ireland (โฌ58,679)
โ๏ธ Belgium (โฌ57,989)
โ๏ธ Austria (โฌ54,508)
โ๏ธ Germany (โฌ50,988)
Other above-average performers include Finland, Sweden, and France.
๐ Lowest Nominal Salaries
Countries with salaries below โฌ20,000:
Bulgaria (โฌ13,503)
Hungary (โฌ16,895)
Greece (โฌ17,013)
Romania (โฌ17,739)
Poland (โฌ18,054)
Slovakia (โฌ19,001)
Italy (โฌ32,500) and Spain (โฌ32,500) also fall below the EU average.
๐ Salaries Adjusted for PPS
PPS provides a fairer comparison by accounting for living costs.
Highest PPS Salary: Luxembourg (โฌ53,745).
Lowest PPS Salary: Greece (โฌ20,525).
Countries above โฌ45,000 PPS:
โ๏ธ Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and Austria.
โ๏ธ Ireland (โฌ41,581) and France (โฌ39,110) also outpace the EU average.
๐ Trends from 2022 to 2023
General Growth: EU salaries rose by 6% (โฌ2,225 increase).
Biggest Growth: Romania, Hungary, Poland, Latvia, and Croatia (>15%).
Minimal Growth: Malta, Greece, Italy (<โฌ1,000 increase).
Decline: Sweden (-โฌ1,817 due to currency exchange).
๐ Key Takeaways
Western and Northern Europe lead in salaries but face narrowing advantages in PPS-adjusted rankings.
Eastern Europe shows improvements in PPS but lags in absolute terms.