As of 1 January 2015, 22 of the 28 European Union (EU) Member Sates had national minimum wages, Eurostat reports.
The highest minimum wage per month ranged from 1,923 euro in Luxembourg to 184 euro in Bulgaria.
The Croatian minimum wage was 396 euro and in January Croatia was ranked with those countries where the minimum wage was less than 500 euro.
In the period between 2008 and 2015 the highest increase in the minimum wage was recorded in Romania where it virtually doubled.
The most modest rise in the minimum wage for that period was recorded in Croatia, rising by only 4 percent.
The minimum wage was reduced however in that period only in Greece where it dropped by 14% to EUR 684.
The gap between the highest and lowest minimum wages in EU countries was reduced from a ratio of 1 to 10 in euro to a ratio of 1 to 4 in purchasing power standards (PPS).
The highest PPS in January was recorded in Luxembourg amounting to 1.561 PPS and the lowest in Bulgaria with 380 PPS.
The PPS in Croatia in January was 584.