Croatia was among six countries of the European Union with the lowest minimum wage in January, Eurostat said on Friday, warning about the enormous differences between member states.

At the start of 2021, 21 EU member states had a national minimum wage, which ranged from €700 in the east to €1,500 in the northwest, a study by the EU statistical office has shown.

Only Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland and Sweden did not have a minimum wage.

In 10 member states, mostly in Eastern Europe, the minimum wage in January was below €700 per month. In five countries in the south, the minimum wage was between €700 and slightly over €1,100, and in six countries in the west and north, it was above €1,500.

The data show that the highest minimum wage in the EU is as many as 6.6 times higher than the lowest, Eurostat said.

Croatia near the bottom of the list

In January, the lowest minimum wage, of €332 per month, was reported in Bulgaria. In Hungary, Romania and Latvia, it was between €440 and €500 per month.

Croatia followed with a minimum wage of €563 in January. Czechia and Estonia also had a minimum wage of below €600.

In Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania it was between €614 and €642.

In the southern group, Greece had the lowest minimum wage in January, of €758. It was followed by Portugal, Malta, Slovenia and Spain with a minimum wage of between €780 and slightly over €1,100.

Among the countries in the north and west of the continent, France had the lowest minimum wage, of €1,555, followed by Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland, where the minimum wage ranged from slightly over €1,600 to slightly over €1,724.

Luxembourg had the highest minimum wage, of €2,202.

When the minimum wage is expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), the gap between member states is somewhat narrower — the minimum wage is ‘only’ 2.7 higher than the lowest.

Bulgaria is still at the bottom of the list with a minimum wage of 623 PPS per month, while Luxembourg tops the list with 1,668 PPS. In Croatia, the minimum wage in January was 805 PPS.