• Insights

Global – Comparing rates and types of minimum wage across the world

United Kingdom
08.07.18
2
Most countries have a national minimum wage in some form: in some it is regulated on a monthly basis, but in others a daily or hourly basis. Click to see a chart of our findings from 36 jurisdictions around the world.

Minimum Wage

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Please note:

  • All minimum wages quoted include pro-rata instalments of any additional months’ salary (13th month) and other additional payments, where set by law.
  • In some countries, the basic national minimum wage is not fixed at a monthly rate but at an hourly or weekly rate. We have converted this into a monthly rate for the chart. We have based this on the statutory full time working hours in the country concerned and assumed the number of working days in the month to be 22.
  • The minimum wage is shown as a gross amount and so no income tax or social security contributions have been deducted. Note that tax and contribution rates can vary considerably from country to country.
  • The minimum wage figures we quote do not include any amount payable in addition by employers in social security contributions and so the figures do not represent employers’ total payroll costs.
  • In some countries, the minimum wage varies by region, province or state, for example. In those cases, we have tried to choose a representative average, based on national circumstances.
  • In countries that have different minimum wages for different sectors of industry or type of work, we have tried to choose a representative figure for the chart.
  • In countries that pay a lower amount for younger people, we have chosen the amount applicable to full-aged workers.
  • If there is a different rate for skilled and unskilled workers or for blue and white collar workers, we have used the unskilled/blue collar rate.
  • Note that in some countries, national minimum wage is normally supplemented by a collective bargaining agreement. We have reflected this in the amount shown in the chart. Similarly, if there is no national minimum wage, but collective bargaining agreements normally apply, we have chosen a representative agreement for the amount shown in the chart.
  • All rates are quoted in EUR, with the exchange rate as at 1 February 2018.
  • The law is stated as at March 2018.