Minimum wage by country (2026)

Last updated July 24, 2026. Jump to: What a minimum wage figure represents · The country table · Patterns across countries · What employers must budget beyond the minimum · How to use this data · FAQ

What a minimum wage figure represents

A minimum wage — sometimes published as a minimum salary — is the lowest amount the law allows an employer to pay for a given period of work. What varies from country to country isn’t just the number, but the period: our guides record it as a flat monthly salary in some countries, a range, or a per-day rate in others, and in a few there is no single national figure at all. Where a figure is per hour, it ties directly to what counts as a normal week — see standard working hours by country for how that varies.

• Some set one national figure. Croatia, Portugal, and Greece each record a single flat monthly minimum salary that applies nationwide.
• Some delegate it to a region or jurisdiction. Canada’s minimum ranges CAD $15.35–$19.75 by province and territory; Switzerland leaves it to the canton, with no national minimum wage recorded at all.
• Some tier it by sector, skill, or age. Hungary sets a higher figure for skilled workers than unskilled, Egypt splits private- and public-sector minimums, and Kenya’s general minimum varies by sector and region.
• Some record a range rather than one number. Mexico and Cyprus both state a range rather than a single figure.

A few guides state the period explicitly — India’s minimum is recorded per day (INR 178/day), varying further by state and skill level. Most other figures in the table are stated as our guide records them, without a period spelled out; open the country’s guide for the exact pay period and any recent increase.

Minimum wage by country

The table lists 41 countries whose guides state a minimum wage or minimum salary figure. Each entry is copied from that country’s guide exactly as recorded, checked July 2026. Open a country’s guide for the exact pay period, regional or sector variation, and effective date.

Source: our country guides, checked July 2026. Figures are the statutory minimum as each guide records it in its at-a-glance summary; open the guide for the exact period, any regional or sector variation, and the effective date.

A number of countries with a full guide do not state a minimum-wage figure in this field — Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Georgia, Malta, Tunisia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina among them. That does not mean there is no wage floor in these countries — it means the figure isn’t summarized in this field of the guide. Open the country guide directly for the fuller picture.

What the data shows across countries

A few patterns repeat across the table. First, tiering: several countries don’t set one minimum but several, split by skill, sector, age, or region. Hungary, Egypt, and Kenya all tier this way.

Second, sub-national delegation: Canada sets it by province and territory, and Switzerland delegates it to the canton entirely, with no single national figure recorded.

Third, ranges instead of one number: Mexico and Cyprus both record a range rather than a flat figure.

Fourth, scheduled change: Argentina’s figure is already set to rise, from ARS 341,000 to ARS 376,600 by August 2026 — a reminder that these are point-in-time figures, not fixed ones.

Fifth, geographic spread: the table isn’t clustered in one region. It runs from Ghana and Namibia in Africa, to Chile and Peru in Latin America, to Australia and New Zealand in Asia-Pacific, to more than twenty countries across Europe. None of them share a common baseline — each government sets its own figure, on its own schedule, for its own reasons.

None of this is unusual — it’s simply how minimum-wage law gets written, country by country. The table states each figure as recorded; the guide behind it carries the eligibility, the period, and the mechanics.

What employers must budget beyond the minimum

A minimum wage is a floor, not the cost of a hire. Employer payroll taxes, statutory benefits, and — in some countries — a mandatory extra month’s pay all sit on top of it, and none of them are optional.

Employer social security and payroll tax contributions alone can add a substantial percentage on top of gross pay, and the rate is set separately in each country; see our guide to employer payroll taxes by country for the country-by-country rates. Several of the countries in the table above also mandate an extra annual payment beyond salary — see 13th-month pay by country for which ones.

Statutory benefits — paid leave, sick pay, parental leave, and more — sit on top of both. Our guide to statutory employee benefits by country covers the minimums by country, and our guide to the total employer cost of hiring abroad walks through folding all of it into one number.

Stack a high employer payroll-tax rate on top of a minimum-wage salary, add a mandatory extra month’s pay where one applies, and the annual cost of that hire can run well past what the headline minimum-wage figure implies. Budgeting from the minimum alone, without the tax and benefit layers on top, is the most common way a hiring plan comes in under its real cost.

How to use this data

The fastest way to turn a country’s minimum wage into a real hiring cost is the employment cost calculator — it starts from a salary and itemizes the statutory employer cost on top, country by country.

If you’re pricing a hire in India, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Brazil, Mexico, or Portugal, the country calculator applies that country’s own rates directly.

For any other country, start with its country guide — the guide behind each row above has the fuller picture: eligibility, the exact pay period, sector or regional variation, and how it interacts with tax and benefits. And because minimum-wage law changes on its own schedule, always confirm the current figure and effective date before relying on it for a specific hire.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between minimum wage and minimum salary?

They describe the same legal floor — the least an employer can pay — just measured differently. “Minimum wage” is often a rate per hour or per day; “minimum salary” is often a flat amount per month or year. Which term applies, and which period it’s measured in, is set by each country’s own law, which is why the table above states each figure exactly as our guide records it rather than converting it to one standard.

Which countries have the highest minimum wage?

It depends on the period being compared, and currencies aren’t directly comparable without converting them. Among the figures in the table, Spain (€17,094) and Belgium (€2,154.11) sit toward the higher end of the raw numbers, though the two aren’t measured on the same period, so they’re not a fair comparison as-is. Because periods and currencies differ so much, ranking countries from this table alone isn’t reliable — open the specific guide for context.

Does minimum wage apply to independent contractors?

No. Minimum wage law protects employees; a genuine independent contractor is paid under their contract, not a statutory wage floor. If a contractor is treated like an employee in practice — set hours, direct supervision, no other clients — minimum wage and other employment protections can still apply regardless of what the contract is labeled. Our guide to contractor misclassification covers the risk.

Do minimum wage figures change often?

Yes — most countries revise theirs on a regular schedule, commonly annually, and some mid-year. Argentina’s figure in the table is already scheduled to rise again, from ARS 341,000 to ARS 376,600 by August 2026. Treat every figure on this page as checked at a point in time (July 2026), and confirm the current rate on the country’s guide before relying on it for a specific hire.

Is the minimum wage the same as the total cost of hiring someone?

No — it’s the floor, not the total. Employer payroll taxes, mandatory benefits, and in many countries an extra month’s pay on top of salary all add to it, and none are optional. Use the employment cost calculator to turn a country’s minimum, or any salary, into an all-in employer cost before you commit to a hire.

Why do some countries in this guide have no minimum wage figure listed?

Our country guides record whatever their sourced field states, and for a number of countries — including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Italy — a minimum-wage figure isn’t captured in that field. That’s a gap in what’s summarized here, not necessarily evidence that no wage floor exists in that country. Check the country guide directly for the fuller position.

Are these minimum wage figures gross or net?

Where our guide specifies, minimum-wage figures are gross — before income tax and employee social security withholding. Hungary’s and Romania’s guides state this explicitly (“HUF 322,800 gross”, “RON 4,050 gross”). Where a guide doesn’t label the figure gross or net, don’t assume either way — the country’s own guide, and its tax section, will confirm it. Our guide to income tax rates by country shows how much of a gross figure gets withheld.