Over the year, minimum wages in Montenegro rose by more than 20%, outpacing all EU candidate countries. This result put the country at the top of the Eurostat ranking and clearly showed how quickly the region’s economic map is changing.
A record leap under the “Europe Now 2” program
From July 2024 to July 2025, Montenegro’s minimum wage increased by more than 20% — an absolute record among all European Union candidate countries. North Macedonia came in second with a similar figure, while in a number of countries declines were recorded.
Such a significant increase was the result of the government program “Europe Now 2”, launched in October 2024 at the initiative of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. Under the reform, the minimum wage for workers with secondary education was set at 600 euros, and for specialists with higher education — 700 euros.
For comparison: before the reform, the minimum wage in the country was 450 euros. Thus, the increase amounted to +150 euros or +33% in nominal terms, but if measured from July 2024 to July 2025, Eurostat’s calculations show an increase of just over 20% due to recalculation based on annual average figures.
Where Montenegro stands on Europe’s wage map
According to Eurostat, in July 2025 minimum wages in EU countries ranged from 551 euros in Bulgaria to 2,704 euros in Luxembourg. Among candidate countries, the lowest amount was recorded in Ukraine — just 164 euros.
It is important to note that in Europe there are five EU member states where there is no legally established minimum wage: Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Finland.