The annual growth rate in Malta’s minimum wage was among the lowest in the EU over the past decade, according to recent Eurostat data.
Between January 2015 and 2025, the minimum wage in Malta grew by 2.9%, the second-lowest behind France, which grew by 2.1%.
Meanwhile, the growth rate in minimum wages in Romania (+14.1%), Lithuania (+13.2%), Bulgaria (+11.6%), and Poland (+10.3%) were among the highest.
Malta was among 10 EU countries with a minimum wage below €1,000 per month, with monthly pay packets across the union ranging from €551 in Bulgaria to €2,638 in Luxembourg.
In addition to Luxembourg, only five countries had minimum wages above €1,500 – Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France – while six countries had a minimum monthly pay between €1,000 and €1,500.
Malta fared slightly better when adjusting wages to take prices into account, however. Overall, disparities in minimum wages across the EU were “considerably smaller” when prices were taken into account, the report noted.
When adjusted for price differences, Malta’s minimum wage rose to above €1,000, an improvement reflected across the bloc. More countries entered the €1,000 to €1,500 bracket, and one additional country joined those with minimum wages above €1,500.
However, when compared to median wage levels, Malta fared less well; in 2018 – the latest year for which comparisons to median wage levels was available – it was among six countries to have minimum wages below half the median income.
Despite the Eurostat results suggesting lacklustre growth in Malta’s minimum wage, this could be set to change over the next few years: in October 2023, the government signed a deal with social partners to increase the minimum wage yearly over a four-year period.
At the time of the deal being signed, there were just over 2,000 workers registered as minimum wage earners in Malta.
However, the increase was expected to impact around three times that number of people, as a further 4,000 people who qualify for an in-work benefit will also see a bump in pay.
Malta’s minimum wage, which is measured weekly, increased to €213.54 last year, up from €192.73 in 2023 and €168.01 in 2016.