Average Belgian earns half as much as the European average

Belgium is in fourth place. Only in Luxembourg (81,064), Denmark (67,604) and Ireland (58,679) are wages even higher. Bulgaria (13,503), Hungary (16,895) and Greece (17,013) are at the bottom.

Compared to 2022, annual wages across the EU increased by an average of 6.2 percent. The top ten risers are dominated by Central and Eastern European countries, with Romania (+17.8 percent to 17,739 euros) in the lead.

Belgium – together with Luxembourg the only country with automatic wage indexations – is in eleventh place with an increase of 8.6 percent. There have also been significant increases in two of the three countries with the highest annual wages, Luxembourg and Ireland, by 7.5 and 8 percent respectively.In only one country did wages decline in 2023. In Sweden, the average annual wage, converted into euros, fell by 4 percent to 44,619.

Eurostat’s wage statistics are based on a combination of the national accounts of the Member States and employee surveys.