Minimum Wage Levels in Different Countries

As a number of the world’s major economies have been shrinking for several months now, we decided to have a look at pay rates for people who take jobs at minimum wages.

We’ve shown the wages both in the original currency and in sterling at today’s exchange rate.

Hourly Minimum Wages in Different Countries 2009

Country	Wage (per hour)	Wage (per hour in £)
UK	£5.73	£5.73
Australia	$14.31	£7.01
Canada	$7.75 – $9.50	£4.36 – £5.35
Cyprus	€4.55	£4.09
France	€7.62	£6.85
Ireland	€8.65	£7.77
New Zealand	$12.50	£4.85
Spain	€3.60	£3.23
USA	$6.55	£4.44

Notes:
The minimum wage in Canada varies from province to province. It is lowest in New Brunswick at CAN$7.75 per hour and highest in Ontario at CAN$9.50.

The USA sets a Federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour. A number of states set a higher minimum than the Federal minimum. Where Federal and state law have different minimum wage rates, the higher rate applies. For example, in California the minimum is $8.00 (£5.41) per hour, in Florida it is $7.21 (£4.88)

Exchange rate conversions to pound sterling correct at time of writing.