Albania’s Minimum Wage Is Lowest in Europe

TIRANA, February 11

Recent data from Eurostat show that the difference in national gross monthly minimum wages in European countries is very large ranging from Euro 213 in Albania to as much as Euro 2,142 in Luxembourg. Eurostat’s biannual publication on Albania minimum wages shows a slight increase of €3 from July 2019 resulting from the Lek-Euro exchange rate.
The minimum wage in Albania is Lek 26,000 thus being the lowest also among the EU candidate countries. The minimum wage in other EU candidate countries varied from €331 in Montenegro, €343 in Serbia, and €440 in Turkey.

The low minimum wage is often mentioned as an advantage in terms of Albania’s geographical flexibility when it comes to attracting foreign companies and business to the country. However, low minimum wages affect the labor force morale and living conditions, productivity, and consumer spending.
Based on the data, 21 out of the 27 EU Member States had a national minimum wage. Meanwhile, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Sweden have no legal minimum wage.
The countries were grouped into three categories respectively, group 1 with minimum wages lower than €500 per month;
Group 2 where national minimum wages were at least EUR 500 but lower than EUR 1 000 per month in January 2020;
Group 3, where national minimum wages were at least EUR 1 000 per month in January 2020.

Source/Photo Credit: Eurostat