Turkey's minimum wage drops to near‑bottom of Eurostat rankings

Eurostat data for 2026 shows Turkey's gross minimum wage in euro terms fell from €654 in January to €621 in July, moving the country to the fourth‑lowest position out of 29 European nations, just above Bulgaria. The decline reflects the absence of a mid‑year wage increase and the depreciation of the Turkish lira against the euro.

Turkey’s purchasing‑power‑parity score fell to 973, placing it behind Albania, Latvia and Estonia. While only eight of the 29 countries recorded a rise in their minimum wages during the period, Turkey’s nominal wage remained unchanged in lira, resulting in a €33 loss per worker in euro value.