Minimum wages have outpaced food price inflation in 23 of 26 European countries examined over the past five years, according to analysis by Euronews Business comparing wage growth and food costs between August 2021 and August 2026. The finding offers rare good news for low-paid workers across a continent still recovering from an inflation shock that began before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accelerated sharply afterward.
But three countries stand out as exceptions. Malta saw the sharpest decline in purchasing power, with minimum-wage workers able to buy 6% less food with their gross pay than they could five years ago. Spain and France followed, recording falls of 5% and 4% respectively. In all three cases, wages rose — but not fast enough to keep up with the cost of groceries.
The Inflation Shock
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 34% across the EU between August 2021 and August 2026, according to Eurostat. Hungary recorded the highest rise in the bloc at 57%, followed by Bulgaria at 54% and Romania at 53%. Cyprus had the lowest increase at 21%. Among the wider group of 35 European countries, Switzerland recorded the lowest increase at 5%. Turkey was an outlier, with food prices rising by 752% over the same period.
The war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, drove up energy, fertiliser and transport costs and disrupted agricultural markets. But food prices were already rising before the invasion. Among the EU's largest economies, food prices rose by 25% in France, 30% in Italy, 34% in Germany and 35% in Spain between August 2021 and August 2026.
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%, while the minimum wage rose by 46% in Germany, 29% in Spain and 20% in France. 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%.
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
Turkey's exceptional rise reflects years of high inflation, fuelled in part by a sharp fall in the lira, which pushed up the cost of imported goods and inputs. The lira's 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.
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.
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.
Why This Matters:
The fact that minimum wages have outpaced food inflation in most of Europe is a testament to tight labour markets and political pressure to protect low earners during an inflation shock. But it also reveals the limits of wage policy as a tool for maintaining living standards when prices rise sharply. In Malta, Spain and France, governments raised minimum wages — but not enough to offset the cost of food. The gap matters because food is non-discretionary spending. Workers who lose purchasing power on groceries have less left for housing, transport and savings. The divergence also raises questions about fiscal sustainability. Wage mandates that outpace productivity gains can squeeze small businesses and accelerate inflation if not matched by supply-side reforms. The German experience — a 46% wage rise and 9% purchasing power gain — suggests that even large wage increases can deliver modest real gains when inflation runs hot. For policymakers, the lesson is clear: controlling inflation is the precondition for wage growth that actually improves living standards.