Average salaries across Europe – which countries have the highest salaries?

Average salaries vary widely across Europe. So does the cost of living.

But which countries offer the highest salaries? And how do salaries compare when adjusted for purchasing power standards?

According to foreign media, Telegraph reports, there are different definitions of salary, wages, and income, each of which reflects different aspects.

And Eurostat's calculation is based on the average annual gross salary for a full-time job - while Euronews says it converted these figures into monthly salaries by simply dividing by 12.

As Euronews points out, in 2023, the average monthly adjusted full-time salary for employees ranged from €1,125 in Bulgaria to €6,755 in Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, the EU average was €3,155.

Denmark is the only EU country besides Luxembourg with a salary above €5,000. It offers €5,634.

Ireland (€4,890) and Belgium (€4,832) come very close to this threshold.

Austria (€4,542), Germany (€4,250) and Finland (€4,033) also offer salaries above €4,000.

About 10 out of 26 EU countries pay under €2,000

Among the 26 EU countries (excluding the Netherlands due to lack of Eurostat data), 10 reported an average gross salary below €2,000.

In four member states, the average salary was below €1,500. Poland stood just above this level at €1,505. In Romania, Greece and Hungary, salaries were around €1,400.

Germany (€4,250) offers the highest average salary among the four largest EU economies, followed by France (€3,555).

Both Italy (€2,729) and Spain (€2,716) were below the EU average by more than €400.

Eurostat data covers 26 EU countries.

Although not directly comparable due to methodological differences, OECD average annual wages for full-time employees include more European countries.

According to the OECD, the average salary in Switzerland was €8,104, making it the country with the highest salaries in Europe.

Another European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country, Norway, offered an average salary of €5,027.

The United Kingdom had an average salary of €4,220.

At €4,629, the Netherlands ranks among the EU countries with the highest salaries.

While Turkey, an EU candidate country, recorded the lowest average salary of €873, making it the only country below the €1,000 threshold.

In conclusion, it is said that the general trend shows that Western and Northern European countries lead in wage levels, while Southern and Eastern Europe tend to offer significantly lower nominal wages. /Telegraph/