Minimum-wage workers across most of Europe can afford more food today than they could five years ago, despite sharp price rises at the supermarket checkout. An analysis of 26 European countries shows that statutory minimum wages rose faster than food prices between August 2021 and August 2026 in all but three nations — a rare piece of good news for workers on the lowest incomes during a period of sustained inflation.
But the picture isn't uniform. In Malta, Spain, and France, minimum-wage earners lost ground. A Maltese worker on the statutory minimum can now buy about 6% less food with their gross pay than they could five years ago, despite a nominal wage increase. Spanish and French workers saw purchasing power fall by 5% and 4%, respectively — a reminder that wage rises don't always keep pace with the cost of living, even in wealthy EU member states.
The Food Price Shock
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 34% across the EU over the five-year period, according to Eurostat. The sharpest increases were in Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary recorded a 57% rise, Bulgaria 54%, and Romania 53%. Cyprus had the lowest increase in the bloc, at 21%. Among the wider group of 35 European countries examined, Switzerland recorded just 5%. Turkey was an outlier, with food prices rising by 752% over the same period.
Turkey's exceptional inflation reflects years of economic mismanagement. The lira's sharp fall pushed up the cost of imported goods and inputs. That decline was partly driven by a series of interest rate cuts that began in 2021, even as inflation rose. Lower rates made the currency less attractive to hold, adding to pressure on its value. Turkey reversed that policy in 2023 and raised rates sharply, but prices continued to rise.
Across the EU, food prices were already rising before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The war added to the pressure by driving up energy, fertiliser, and transport costs, as well as disrupting agricultural markets. Those costs fed through to supermarket prices. Among the EU's largest economies, food prices rose by 25% in France, 30% in Italy, 34% in Germany, and 35% in Spain.
Where Wages Kept Up
Monthly gross minimum wages also rose over the same period in many European countries with a statutory minimum wage. Hungary recorded the largest increase in the EU, at 93%. Germany's minimum wage rose by 46%, Spain's by 29%, and France's by 20%. These changes are measured in local currencies.
Turkey recorded the largest increase among the countries compared, at 823% over five years. Minimum wages also more than doubled in Serbia, at 103%, and Montenegro, at 102%.
The analysis measures how much food a monthly gross minimum wage could buy in August 2021 and August 2026. It doesn't show how much money workers had left for groceries after tax, rent, and other expenses. Simply subtracting the food price increase from the minimum wage increase can be misleading, especially when inflation is high, as in Turkey. Comparing what the wage could buy at each point gives a clearer picture.
Serbia and Montenegro recorded the largest increases in the amount of food a minimum wage could buy, at 37%. A minimum-wage earner who could buy 100 baskets of food in August 2021 could buy 137 in August 2026. Croatia, Albania, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Lithuania also saw increases of more than 20%.
Food purchasing power rose by 10% in Ireland, 9% in Germany, 7% in Greece, 6% in Belgium and the Netherlands, and 3% in Portugal.
The Turkish Exception
In Turkey, the minimum wage rose by 823% and food prices by 752%. The difference is 71 percentage points, but the increase in food purchasing power was only 8%. Both wages and food prices rose steeply in lira, with wages rising slightly faster. Since January 2024, the minimum wage has remained ahead of food prices, leaving workers able to buy more food than they could at the starting point.
Why This Matters:
The fact that minimum wages outpaced food inflation in most of Europe is a testament to political pressure and statutory adjustments — not market forces alone. In countries like Germany, where the minimum wage rose by 46%, the increase reflects a deliberate policy choice to protect low-income workers during a cost-of-living crisis. But the losses in Malta, Spain, and France show that wage floors don't automatically adjust to inflation. Workers in those countries are materially worse off, even if their nominal pay went up. The analysis also underscores the uneven impact of Europe's inflation crisis: Central and Eastern European countries saw the steepest food price rises, but many also delivered the largest wage increases. That's a political achievement, not an accident. For millions of workers across the continent, the question isn't just whether wages rose — it's whether they rose enough to keep food on the table.