Where did real wages rise and fall the most in Europe in 2024?
Annual gross wages increased in nominal terms in nearly all 32 European countries in 2024, with the exception of a very slight decline in Finland. However, this does not take inflation into account. When adjusted for consumer price inflation, real wages slightly decreased in four countries. This shows that the impact of nominal wage increases is reduced when inflation is considered.
So, which European countries saw the biggest real wage gains and cuts in 2024? The figures are based on a single worker without children earning the average wage, expressed in national currencies.
According to the OECD's Taxing Wages 2025 report and Eurostat data, among EU countries, the UK, three EFTA members, and candidate country Turkey, Turkey stands out as an outlier with an 82.9% increase in annual nominal gross wages in 2024 compared to 2023. This sharp rise is largely driven by the country's very high inflation rate of 58.3%.
Still, this was enough to give Turkey the highest real wage growth before tax, at 15.5%. On the other hand, opposition parties and the former head of TurkStat have claimed that the official inflation figures are manipulated, suggesting the actual rate may be significantly higher.
Romania followed Turkey in both nominal (20.9%) and real wage growth (14.3%). A lower inflation rate of 5.8% contributed to Romania's stronger real wage increase.
Bulgaria ranks third in real wage growth at 9.2%, driven by a 12% nominal wage increase and a relatively low inflation rate of 2.6%.
Apart from these three countries, real wage growth also exceeded 7% in five others: Malta (9%), Hungary (8.9%), Latvia (8.4%), Poland (7.8%) and Lithuania (7.2%).
Southern European countries recorded modest real wage gains. Italy saw a 2.7% increase, Greece 1.7%, Spain 1.9%, and Cyprus 2.1%. These figures are higher than those in much of Western Europe. However, they remain well below the strong growth seen in Eastern Europe.
Among Europe's five largest economies, Italy recorded the highest real wage growth at 2.7%, followed by Germany (2.2%) and Spain (1.9%). The UK saw a 1.6% increase, while France reported the lowest growth at just 0.7%.
Four countries recorded negative real wage growth. That means wages did not keep up with inflation, so purchasing power declined in these countries.
Belgium recorded the largest real wage decline at 1% in 2024. Two Nordic countries—Finland (-0.9%) and Iceland (-0.7%)—also saw negative growth. Luxembourg experienced a slight decline of 0.4% in real wages compared to 2023.
These figures indicate strong real wage growth in Eastern Europe, while Southern and Central Europe experienced more moderate increases. The Nordic and Benelux countries recorded mostly flat or negative real wage growth.
Among the 32 countries, Finland was the only one where nominal average wages declined in 2024—though only slightly, by just €14, from €52,907 to €52,893. With annual inflation at just 0.9%, the resulting real wage decline was minimal.
All these changes reflect wages before tax. Therefore, any changes in personal income tax or employee social security contributions may affect net earnings.
According to the report, in 2022 and 2023, real wages had declined in a majority of OECD countries, including Europe.
When comparing inflation rates across Europe in 2024, Turkey was a clear outlier with an exceptionally high rate of 58.3%, as shown in the table above. No other country recorded inflation above 6%. These figures reflect the 12-month average rate of change as of December 2024, with some based on OECD estimates.
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