Where do Serbian salaries stand compared to the Region and the EU: Near the top in the Western Balkans

Where does Serbia stand compared to neighboring countries and the European Union?

Official data show that salaries in the surrounding region are highly uneven.

Among the Western Balkan countries, Montenegro’s Statistical Office reported that the average salary in October amounted to €1,016.

In Serbia, according to the latest data from the Statistical Office, the average net salary in September was €930.

According to the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the average salary in October was €820.

In North Macedonia, data from the State Statistical Office show that the average salary in September stood at €725.

In the third quarter of this year, according to the Institute of Statistics, the average gross salary in Albania was €777.

The figure for Albania refers to gross wages, meaning that the net salary is lower.

Lower salaries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe

According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the average annual net salary for full-time employees in the EU in 2024 amounted to €39,808, or roughly €3,000 per month.

Among EU member states, the average annual salary ranges from €15,400 in Bulgaria to nearly €83,000 in Luxembourg, which is a difference of 5.4 times.

In addition to Luxembourg, average salaries exceeding €50,000 are recorded in five other countries: Denmark, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, and Germany.

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In Denmark, the average salary exceeds €71,000; in Ireland €61,051; in Belgium €59,632; in Austria €58,600; and in Germany €53,791.

Above the EU average are also Finland, with an average salary of €49,428; Sweden, with €46,525; and France, with €43,790.

Below the EU average are Slovenia (€35,133), Spain (€33,700), and Italy (€33,523).

The average net salary in Croatia is €23,446.

At the bottom of the list, alongside Bulgaria, are Greece, with just under €18,000 and Hungary, with €500 more.

Eurostat data show that wages are generally higher in Western and Northern Europe and lower in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Lowest purchasing power in Greece, highest in Luxembourg

Statistics are one thing; the money in people’s wallets and what they can buy at the checkout counter is another.

To assess what people can actually afford with their incomes, analysts apply a special method.

Differences in wages become smaller when using data adjusted for purchasing power standards (PPS), which take into account differences in the cost of living between countries.

One PPS unit theoretically allows the purchase of the same quantity of goods and services in every country.

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Using this method, the lowest purchasing power is recorded in Greece, while the highest is in Luxembourg, even two and a half times greater.

When salaries are adjusted for PPS, they range from 21,644 PPS in Greece to 55,051 PPS in Luxembourg.

Alongside Luxembourg, the countries at the top of the list include Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Ireland, and France.

The five countries with the lowest values are Greece, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Estonia (all below 28,000 PPS).

Food accounts for more than 20 percent of household expenditure in Eastern European Countries

When discussing purchasing power, it is important to note that in a number of Eastern and Southeastern European countries, food accounts for more than 20 percent of household expenditures, while in wealthier economies this share is generally below 12 percent.

Countries with higher average wages typically also have higher food prices, as labor costs in agriculture, processing, and retail are passed on to consumers.

Differences in taxation, particularly VAT rates on food products, also explain part of the variation between countries.

Some countries, such as Ireland, apply reduced or even zero VAT rates on food, while others, such as Denmark, apply the standard VAT rate.

Countries with high incomes can more easily absorb higher price levels, while households with lower incomes in Central and Eastern Europe bear a disproportionately greater burden, even when nominal food prices are lower.

Overall, Southeastern Europe and the Western Balkans record the lowest food prices on the European continent.

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