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The 10 Countries Where the Minimum Wage Comes Closest to the Typical Wage |
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The OECD updated its minimum-wage tables on October 5. The measure is simple: the legal minimum as a share of the median full-time wage. Colombia’s minimum is 90.5% of what its typical full-time worker earns. America’s is 24.1%. That puts the United States last of 32 countries. |
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Source: OECD Earnings Database, minimum wage relative to median wages of full-time workers, 2025 (updated October 5, 2026). China not covered. |
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| What's Surprising |
Colombia’s minimum wage was 1,423,500 pesos a month in 2025. That is 90.5% of the median full-time wage. In most rich countries the figure sits near half. In Colombia the floor and the typical paycheck are almost the same number.
The catch is who gets it. Roughly half of Colombian workers earn less than the minimum, according to the national statistics office, DANE. Many work informal jobs the law never reaches. A floor this close to the middle says as much about low median pay as about generous rules.
Mexico is the fastest climber. In 2018 its minimum was 42.2% of the median. In 2025 it was 74.9%. The ratio has risen every year since 2016. Adjusted for prices, the hourly minimum more than doubled from 2018 to 2025, from $1.37 to $3.08. Costa Rica, in second, went the other way. It peaked at 90.3% in 2023 and has slipped since.
| What's Not Surprising |
The top three are all in Latin America. Median pay there is low, so even a modest floor reaches far up the pay scale. The rest of the top ten is Europe, New Zealand and South Korea. Several have pushed minimums up faster than typical pay. Britain went from 46.1% in 2010 to 61.9%. South Korea went from 45.1% to 59.6%.
Rich countries pay more in dollars and less against their own middle. Germany’s minimum is worth $17.83 an hour after adjusting for prices, more than four times Colombia’s $4.10. Measured against its own median, Germany sits at 49.6%. That is 22nd of 32.
The United States is last because of one number. The federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009, the longest freeze in its history. In 2025 prices, it was worth $10.71 in 2010. It is worth $7.25 now. A third of its value is gone. Many states set higher floors. The OECD measures the federal one.
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90.5% Colombia’s minimum wage as a share of its median full-time wage. Roughly half of Colombian workers still earn less than the minimum. |
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24.1% The United States’ ratio, last of 32. The next-lowest country, Estonia, is at 42.7%. The gap is 18.6 points. |
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2009 The last time the US federal minimum rose, to $7.25. Adjusted for prices, it has lost a third of its value since 2010. |
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74.9% Mexico’s ratio in 2025. In 2018 it was 42.2%. No country in the table has climbed faster. |
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21 of 32 Countries whose minimum wage is at least half the median full-time wage. The United States is below a quarter. |
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The 2026 numbers will move. Colombia raised its minimum 23% in January, to 1,750,905 pesos a month, the biggest increase in 25 years. Mexico raised its by 13%. Germany went to €13.90 an hour and goes to €14.60 in 2027. The US federal rate stays at $7.25 unless Congress acts. Colombia’s ratio could reach 100%: a minimum equal to the median. The OECD’s 2026 figures arrive next year. We’ll be watching. |
