Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World

Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World

The purpose of a minimum wage is to establish a baseline income level for workers in a given jurisdiction. Ideally it’s enough to cover basic needs like food and housing, but this isn’t always a guarantee.

To see how the minimum wage differs around the world, we’ve visualized data from Picodi, which includes values for 67 countries as of January 2023.

Monthly Minimum Wage, by Country

The following table includes all of the data used in this infographic.

Each value represents the monthly minimum wage a full-time worker would receive in each country. Picodi states that these figures are net of taxes and have been converted to USD.

Country	Increase compared to Jan 2022	Minimum wage as of Jan 2023 (full-time, USD)
Argentina	104.5%	$336
Turkey	100.0%	$457
Moldova	32.5%	$180
Latvia	27.1%	$555
Malaysia	25.8%	$289
Pakistan	24.6%	$111
Romania	24.5%	$393
Germany	21.9%	$1,594
Belarus	21.2%	$189
Lithuania	18.8%	$646
North Macedonia	18.5%	$298
Mexico	17.4%	$315
Chile	17.1%	$369
Russia	16.9%	$224
Kazakhstan	16.6%	$131
Colombia	16.4%	$249
Hungary	16.0%	$383
Netherlands	15.3%	$1,895
Poland	14.6%	$584
Belgium	14.3%	$1,509
Serbia	14.3%	$347
Estonia	14.2%	$704
Azerbaijan	14.2%	$186
Albania	13.3%	$265
Slovenia	12.9%	$896
US	12.6%	$1,550
Croatia	12.0%	$571
Uzbekistan	11.9%	$72
Paraguay	11.4%	$323
Armenia	11.4%	$138
Peru	10.3%	$233
Bosnia and Herzegovina	10.0%	$324
Bulgaria	9.9%	$315
Luxembourg	9.3%	$2,140
Philippines	9.2%	$141
Uruguay	9.0%	$424
Brazil	8.9%	$232
India	8.5%	$95
Indonesia	8.1%	$173
Greece	7.9%	$626
Portugal	7.8%	$690
UK	7.3%	$1,705
Slovakia	7.2%	$572
South Africa	6.9%	$226
France	6.6%	$1,380
Czechia	6.6%	$643
Vietnam	6.0%	$162
Ecuador	5.7%	$407
New Zealand	5.6%	$1,866
Ireland	5.4%	$1,753
Canada	5.1%	$1,545
Thailand	5.0%	$195
Australia	4.8%	$2,022
South Korea	4.7%	$1,333
Taiwan	4.6%	$800
Bolivia	4.0%	$284
Guatemala	3.9%	$383
Malta	3.6%	$788
Ukraine	3.1%	$146
Israel	0.0%	$1,389
Puerto Rico	0.0%	$1,328
Hong Kong	0.0%	$959
Saudi Arabia	0.0%	$958
Spain	0.0%	$925
Montenegro	0.0%	$459
Nigeria	0.0%	$68
Cyprus	--	$854

Generally speaking, developed countries have a higher cost of living, and thus require a higher minimum wage.

Two outliers in this dataset are Argentina and Turkey, which have increased their minimum wages by 100% or more from January 2022 levels.

Turkey is suffering from an ongoing currency crisis, with the lira losing over 40% of its value in 2021. Prices of basic goods have increased considerably as the Turkish lira continues to plummet. In fact, a 2022 survey found that 70% of people in Turkey were struggling to pay for food.

Argentina, South America’s second-biggest economy, is also suffering from very high inflation. In response, the country announced three minimum wage increases throughout 2022.

Minimum Wage in the U.S.

Within the U.S., minimum wage varies significantly by state. We’ve visualized each state’s basic minimum rate (hourly) using January 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

2023-03-17 Update: This map was updated to fix several incorrect values. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

America’s federal minimum wage has remained unchanged since 2009 at $7.25 per hour.

Each state is allowed to set their own minimum wage, as long as it’s higher than the federal minimum. In states that do not set their own minimum, the federal minimum applies.

If we assume someone works 40 hours a week, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 translates to an annual figure of just $15,080 before taxes. California’s minimum wage of $15.50 translates to $32,240 before taxes.

For further perspective, check out our 2022 infographic on the salary needed to buy a home across 50 U.S. cities.