Despite a series of decisions by the Albanian government to increase the minimum wage, which has currently reached 40,000 lek per month, Albania continues to have the lowest minimum wage in Europe when compared based on purchasing power, according to the latest Eurostat update from July 20, which excludes data for Kosovo.
In July 2023, Albania’s minimum wage stands at 375 euros. In comparison, Montenegro boasts the highest minimum wage in the region at 532 euros, while Serbia’s minimum wage is 460 euros. As for North Macedonia, the last available data is from the second quarter of 2021, when the minimum wage was around 360 euros. Unfortunately, there are no reported figures for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo data is also absent.
Taking purchasing power standards (PPS) into account, which considers income adjusted for price levels, Albania’s minimum wage fares even worse. Eurostat reports that Albania has the lowest purchasing power standard in Europe, with a value of 549 PPS.
Albania’s low minimum wage translates to significantly reduced buying power in comparison to other countries in the region. Montenegro’s PPS stands at 881, Serbia’s at 732, and North Macedonia’s at 724 (until the end of the first half of 2021), which is approximately 30% higher than Albania’s current level.
Despite Albania’s efforts to raise its minimum wage to match regional standards, the country still lags behind its neighbors. Albania currently holds both the lowest minimum and average wage in the region and Europe (excluding Kosovo). In 2022, both Albania and Kosovo had the lowest average wage in the region, hovering around 520 euros each (gross).
Interestingly, Serbia seems to be leading the regional wage race, with an average wage of 880 euros in 2022, climbing to nearly 1000 euros gross in December 2022 (983 euros), according to data from the Statistical Institute of Serbia. North Macedonia followed with an average wage of 832 euros at the end of 2022, while Montenegro recorded 930 euros, and Bosnia and Herzegovina 934 euros.
On the other hand, Albania boasts higher wages for its top officials. With a recent raise, the gross monthly salary of the Albanian President becomes seven times higher than the average monthly wage in the country, marking a record in the region. Similarly, the President of North Macedonia has a difference of 4.8 times. In a year, the President’s earnings will exceed the regional average income by 5.5 times (compared to the regional average of 3.9).
Meanwhile, in 2022, the average wage in Albania was 41% lower than Serbia and Montenegro and nearly 30% lower than North Macedonia.
Turning to Europe, minimum wages in European Union member countries ranged from 399 euros per month in Bulgaria to 2,508 euros per month in Luxembourg.
As of July 1, 2023, 22 out of 27 EU member states had a national minimum wage, with Cyprus joining on January 1, 2023. Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland, and Sweden were the only EU countries without a national minimum wage. Monthly minimum wages varied greatly among member states, with Bulgaria having the lowest at 399 euros and Luxembourg the highest at 2,508 euros.
Albania, along with other candidate and potential candidate countries, belong to Group 3, with minimum wage levels ranging from 375 euros to 532 euros.
While Romania experienced the highest annual growth rate between July 2013 and July 2023, followed by Lithuania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, other EU countries such as Malta and France had relatively lower growth rates.
