List of countries by minimum wage
The list below gives the official minimum wage rates in some countries. Some countries are more effective than others at enforcing these laws, so that the effective minimum wage may be lower than the official one. Exchange rates as of 11 July 2005.
| Country | Minimum wage | % of GDP per capita |
| Australia | AUD 484.40 (US$362) per week; most workers receive higher wages through enterprise agreements or individual contracts.
Trainees and apprentices, who combine employment with accredited training have minimum wage rates which vary between AUD 173.00 (US$129) and AUD 453.00 (US$338) per week depending on the level of schooling completed. |
54%* |
| Austria | none by law; instead, nationwide collective bargaining agreements set minimum wages by job classification for each industry; the accepted unofficial annual minimum wage is €10,000 to €11,000 (US$12,066 to US$13,272) | 31-34% |
| Belgium | €1,243 (US$1,500) a month for workers over 21 years of age; 18-year-olds must be paid at least 82% of the minimum, 19-year-olds 88%, and 20-year-olds 94% of the minimum. | 48% |
| Brazil | R$300 (US$128) a month; annually adjusted by the Federal government. Each state is free to set its own minimum wage, provided it is not lower than the Federal wage. | 37% |
| Bulgaria | 160 leva (US$95/82 euro) per month (as of Jan 2006) | 33% |
| Canada | set by each province and territory; hourly wages vary from CAD$5.90 (US$4.97) to CAD$8.00 (US$6.75) to CAD$8.50 (US$7.17); Ontario and Alberta have a minimum wage rate for students lower than their respective minimums for adult workers, British Columbia has a lower rate for the first 500 hours in the workforce regardless of age; see List of minimum wages in Canada | 29/39/41%* |
| Chile | starting July 1 2005, 127,500 pesos (US$218) per month for those aged 18–65; 95,927 pesos (US$164) for those younger than 18 and for those older than 65; and 82,889 pesos (US$142) for honorary payments; starting July 1 2006, 135,000 (US$231); 101,491 (US$174); and 87,697 pesos (US$150), respectively (Chilean Law 20,039 [1]) | 42% |
| Cuba | 225 pesos (US$243) per month as of International Labor Day, 2005, increased from 100 pesos per month previously. | |
| China | none nationally, but the Labor Law allows local governments to set a minimum wage. | |
| Denmark | none by law, but national labor agreements effectively set a wage floor; the average net wage including pension benefits of adult workers in 2003 was 177 kroner (US$29) per hour. If you are a member of a trade union, which most employees in Denmark are, the normal minimum wage for unskilled workers will be around 88 kroner (US$14) per hour. | |
| Dominican Republic | 3000 pesos per month, which as of March 10, 2006 is equal to roughly $91 US dollars. | |
| Finland | €5.39 (US$6.50) per hour or €926.40 (US$1,118) per month, except where collective bargaining agreements have negotiated higher sector-specific minimum wages (anywhere from €1,000 to over €2,000) | 34% |
| France | €7.61 (US$9.18) per hour | 51%* |
| Germany | none by law (but in discussion); set by collective bargaining agreements | |
| Ghana | 9200 Ghanaian cedis per day ($1.08 USD/day) (Data and exchange rate as of 2003 PDF) | |
| Greece | €28 (US$34) daily and €616 (US$743) monthly; set by the GSEE and the Employers' Association through collective bargaining and routinely ratified by the Ministry of Labor | 42% |
| Hong Kong | applies only to foreign labourers | |
| Hungary | 62,500 HUF (US$293) per month, as of 1 January, 2006; set by the IRC through agreement among its participants, representatives of the Government, employers, and employees | 29% |
| Israel | Above age 18: 47.5% of the average income on 1 April of each year. In 2005: 3335.18 NIS (approx US$732.04) per month. Under age 18, varies. | 48% |
| Italy | none by law; instead set by a collective bargaining agreements on a sector-by-sector basis; when an employer and a union fail to reach an agreement, courts may determine fair wages on the basis of practice in comparable activities, although this rarely occurs in practice | |
| Republic of Ireland | €7.65 (US$9.23) per hour | 35%* |
| Jersey | £5.08 (US$9.04) per hour, except for trainees (for up to a year) £3.82 (US$6.80) per hour. As defined in the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003. | |
| Luxembourg | varies according to the worker's age and number of dependents; for a single worker over the age of 18 is €1,403 (US$1,693) per month for unskilled workers, and €1,684 (US$2,032) per month for skilled workers | 26/31% |
| Mexico | MXP $46.80, $45.35 or $44.05 per day (approx. USD $4.29, $4.16, or $4.04), depending on the geographic zone; as of January 1, 2005 | |
| Netherlands | €1,249.20 (US$1,507.15) per month plus 8% holiday allowance, summing to €1,349.14 (US$1,627.84) (the amount is less for those 22 years old or younger) | 47% |
| New Zealand | NZ$9.50 (US$6.45) per hour for workers 18 years old or older, and NZ$7.60 (US$5.16) per hour for those aged 16 or 17. (Increased to these levels on 21 March 2005). From March 27 2006, these rates increase to NZ$10.25 and NZ$8.20 respectively.[2] | 49%* |
| Portugal | €374.70 (US$452.11) per month; covers full-time workers as well as rural workers and domestic employees ages 18 and over | 30% |
| Poland | 899 PLN (US$282) per month from January 1, 2006 | 36% |
| Russia | 720 rubles (US$25) per month; raised to 800 rubles (US$28) from September 1, 2005, and to be raised to 1,100 rubles (US$38) from May 1, 2006 | 6% |
| Romania | 330 RON (US$119) per month | 40% |
| Spain | €540.90 (US$641) per month from January 1, 2006 | 26% |
| Sweden | none by law; set by collective bargaining contracts every year | |
| Switzerland | none by law; it is normally 3,000 CHF (US$2,330) a month set by collective agreements | 53% |
| Turkey | 531 TL (US$394) per month; reviewed every 6 months by the Minimum Wage Commission, a tripartite government-industry-union body | 78% |
| United Kingdom | £5.05 (US$8.91) per hour for 22-year-olds and above (except those within the first six months of their job and receiving accredited training) (£5.35 from October 2006); £4.25 (US$7.50) per hour for 18-to-21-year-olds and those within the first six months of their job and receiving accredited training (£4.45 from October 2006); £3.00 (US$5.27) per hour for under-18s who have finished compulsory education (£3.30 from October 2006); none for those who have not yet finished compulsory education (the age when a person finishes compulsory education is either 15 or 16, depending on where their birthday falls in the school year) | 45/38/28%* |
| United States | the federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, although workers under age 20 can be paid $4.25 an hour for their first 90 days. Some states also have minimum wage laws ranging from $2.65 in Kansas (for some jobs not covered by the federal rate), to $7.63 an hour in Washington. Some cities and counties have living wage ordinances of up to $15.00 an hour although the groups of workers it applies to are often limited. (29 USC Sec. 206) (OK Statutes 40-197.5) (Revised Code of Washington Sec. 49.46.020) [3] | 25%* |
- (*) 40 h/week; 50 weeks/year
- GDP information from list of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita