Bulgaria will raise its minimum monthly wage by 12.6% to 620.20 euros ($675) from Jan. 1, the government said on Monday, but it will remain the lowest in the European Union.
The increase, approved by the cabinet and discussed at a tripartite council with employers and trade unions, will lift the minimum wage by 136 levs (about 70 euros) to 1,213 levs. Employers’ groups opposed the measure, while unions argued the rise was insufficient given inflation and rising living costs.
“Even after this increase, wages in Bulgaria remain the lowest in the European Union,” Labour Minister Borislav Gutsanov told the meeting.
According to Eurostat, the average minimum wage across the EU stands at around 1,250 euros per month, with Luxembourg at the top at over 2,500 euros. Eastern EU members such as Romania (663 euros) and Hungary (652 euros) remain close to Bulgaria’s level, while Baltic states like Lithuania (924 euros) and Estonia (820 euros) are significantly higher.
Among non-EU Western Balkan countries, minimum wages are even lower. In North Macedonia the statutory minimum is about 365 euros, in Serbia roughly 402 euros, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 420 euros, and in Montenegro 532 euros. Albania trails with around 360 euros.
Despite the increase, Bulgaria’s minimum wage is about half the EU average, highlighting persistent economic gaps between Western and Eastern Europe.