Luxembourg: 2,771 euros minimum gross wage. Macedonia: 624 euros. That is a gap of more than four and a half times for the lowest wage the law permits in a European country.

According to Eurostat figures for the second half of 2026, Luxembourg is followed by Ireland at 2,391 euros, Germany at 2,343, the Netherlands at 2,338 and Belgium at 2,234. In 15 European countries the minimum gross wage is below 1,000 euros.

In the region the picture looks better, because it is closer to home. Serbia has a minimum gross wage of 743 euros. Montenegro 670. Macedonia 624 euros, or roughly 421 euros net. That puts this country behind both neighbours in nominal terms.

Since March 2026 the minimum wage here has been 38,507 denars gross. Macedonia is among the countries with the largest increase in the minimum wage in Europe between January and July - a rise of 6.9 percent. Of 29 European countries, only eight raised their minimum wage in that period.

The growth is real. The problem is that it started from a very low base. Six point nine percent on 624 euros is a completely different thing from six point nine percent on 2,343 euros. Percentages sound bold in a press release; in a shop they get converted into denars.

And how many denars do you need? According to the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, the value of the union's minimum basket reached 68,797 denars in April 2026, of which food and drink alone account for 26,085 denars. The minimum wage is 38,507 denars.

That means someone on the minimum wage covers slightly more than half of the basket the union considers the minimum to live on. The average gross wage, used as the basis for calculating contributions, stood at 69,141 denars in January - almost exactly the same as the basket.

It is true that comparing gross figures between countries does not show the whole picture - taxes, contributions and prices differ everywhere. But when a person on the minimum wage cannot cover their own consumer basket in their own country, the comparison with Luxembourg becomes the second most important one.