rediff.com
News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

Rediff.com  » Business » Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world
This article was first published 9 years ago

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Last updated on: June 05, 2014 17:32 IST

Image: Peter Andre launches the UK's largest carwash.
Photographs: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

In Luxembourg or France, if you work as an unskilled labourer in a factory, you would be making Rs 630 ($10.66) an hour or Rs 5,040 ($85.28) a day for an eight-hour shift.

There are nine countries that pay higher minimum wage compared to the US - a person makes minimum salary of $7.11 (Rs 420) an hour there, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Let’s take a look at countries that pay the highest minimum wage in the world.

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Pedetrians walk in the centre of the city of Luxembourg.
Photographs: Yves Herman/Reuters

Luxembourg

Rank: 1

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $10.66

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $9.92

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 0.72 per cent

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: A view shows boats along the Port de l'Arsenal near the Place de la Bastille (Bastille Square) in Paris.
Photographs: Charles Platiau/Reuters

France

Rank: 2

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $10.60

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $9.18

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.44 per cent

Tags: France

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: The Sydney Opera House is reflected in a harbourside hotel window in The Rocks district of Sydney.
Photographs: Jason Reed/Reuters

Australia

Rank: 3

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $10.21

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $9.69

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 0.52 per cent

Tags: Australia

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: A modern sculpture by Belgian artist Tom Frantzen shows former Belgian King Leopold II surrounded by animals and African warriors in the park of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren.
Photographs: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Belgium

Rank: 4

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $9.97

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $9.83

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 0.15 per cent

Tags: Belgium

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Men enjoy the afternoon sun at the Brouwersgracht canal in Amsterdam.
Photographs: Michael Kooren/Reuters

Netherlands

Rank: 5

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $9.48

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $9.64

Average annual increase 2003-2013: -0.17 per cent

Tags: 1

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: A woman cycles past the "Coffee To Get Her" restaurant near Dublin city centre which becomes a bar and club in the evenings.
Photographs: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Ireland

Rank: 6

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $9.01

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $7.80

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.45 per cent

Tags: 1

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: People buy fruits at a fruit and vegetable market in front of the Te Papa Museum in Wellington.
Photographs: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters

New Zealand

Rank: 7

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $8.62

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $6.75

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 2.48 per cent

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are silhouetted against the sky in London.
Photographs: Luke MacGregor/Reuters

United Kingdom

Rank: 8

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $7.88

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $7.10

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.05 per cent

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Commuters make their way across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Photographs: Keith Bedford/Reuters

Canada

Rank: 9

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $7.85

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $6.40

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 2.06 per cent

Tags: Canada

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: The Space Needle and Mount Rainier are pictured at dusk in Seattle, Washington.
Photographs: Jason Redmond/Reuters

United States

Rank: 10

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $7.11

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $6.44

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.00 per cent

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Tourists photograph each other in the Austrian world heritage village of Hallstatt.
Photographs: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Austria

Rank: 11

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $6.61

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: NA

Average annual increase 2003-2013: NA

Tags: NA , Austria

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Maiko, (apprentice geisha) perform during an annual spring dance performance at the Kaburenjo theatre in the Miyagawa district of Kyoto.
Photographs: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Japan

Rank: 11

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $6.61

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $5.79

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.33 per cent

Tags: Japan

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Statue of a dragon is seen on the dragon bridge over river Ljubljanica.
Photographs: Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters

Slovenia

Rank: 13

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $6.56

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $4.81

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 3.15 per cent

Tags: Slovenia

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: People rest on benches outside a hotel in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, one of Israel's most popular holiday spots.
Photographs: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Israel

Rank: 14

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $5.31

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $5.07

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 0.48 per cent

Tags: Israel

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Buddhists pray in front of a statue of Buddha during a prayer meeting to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha at the Jogye temple in Seoul.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

South Korea

Rank: 15

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $5.22

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $3.37

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 4.48 per cent

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: People visit the mausoleum where the tomb of Spain's former dictator General Francisco Franco lies in the Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen), near Madrid.
Photographs: Reuters

Spain

Rank: 16

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $4.76

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $4.24

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.16 per cent

Tags: Spain

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Ariel view of the neo-Gothic Palace of Culture.
Photographs: Katarina Stoltz/Reuters

Poland

Rank: 17

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $4.73

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $3.14

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 4.17 per cent

Tags: Poland

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: A clown entertains people at central Syntagma square in Athens.
Photographs: Oleg Popov/Reuters

Greece

Rank: 18

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $4.56

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $5.10

Average annual increase 2003-2013: -1.11 per cent

Tags: Greece

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: The sixth century Byzantinian monument of St. Sofia (Ayasofya) and the 16th century Ottoman era Blue Mosque are seen behind the Topkapi Palace.
Photographs: Reuters

Turkey

Rank: 19

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $4.30

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $2.94

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 3.88 per cent

Tags: Turkey

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: Traditional chimnies of rural houses in the Portuguese Southern province of Algarve.
Photographs: Nacho Doce/Reuters

Portugal

Rank: 20

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $3.99

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $3.57

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 1.13 per cent

Tags: Portugal

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: St. Stephens' Basilica is pictured behind a Christmas market in downtown Budapest.
Photographs: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters

Hungary

Rank: 21

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $3.92

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $3.20

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 2.05 per cent

Tags: Hungary

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: A view Strane pod Tatrami village from the Roma settlement below the Tatra mountains.
Photographs: Petr Josek/Reuters

Slovakia

Rank: 22

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $3.29

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $1.90

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 5.61 per cent

Tags: Slovakia

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: People enjoy the sunny spring weather as they ride a pedal-boat on the Vltava river in Prague.
Photographs: David W Cerny/Reuters

Czech Republic

Rank: 23

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $3.26

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $3.16

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 0.32 per cent

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: A nocturnal view of the 'Artilleria' funicular railway in the port city
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Chile

Rank: 24

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $3.01

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $2.30

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 2.71 per cent

Tags: Chile

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: View of Estonia's capital Tallinn.
Photographs: Ints Kalnins/Reuters

Estonia

Rank: 25

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $2.87

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $1.87

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 4.35 per cent

Tags: Estonia

Countries with the highest minimum wage in the world

Image: People walk in front of the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City.
Photographs: Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Mexico

Rank: 26

Real hourly minimum wage 2013: $0.83

Real hourly minimum wage 2003: $0.82

Average annual increase 2003-2013: 0.05 per cent

Tags: Mexico