In Croatia, average gross hourly wage in 2017 was €8.5, which puts it among the five countries with the lowest wages in the EU, Eurostat reported on Tuesday.

This can help explain why Croatian workers choose to work in Ireland, where the average wage is €29, or Austria (€29.8), or Germany (€32.2), Slobodna Dalmacija reported.

The average last year’s wage in EU was €23.1, or 171 percent more than the Croatian average wage. In other words, average worker in Europe earns in one hour the amount a Croatian worker earns in three. Luxembourg has the highest wage of €45.