The UK is fifth out of European countries for its minimum wage, which is due to increase in October.

The UK national minimum wage, due to be increased next month (October 2009) to £5.80 per hour, compares favourably with the minimum wages of other European countries.

In April this year, the UK national minimum wage celebrated its 10th year in operation. It was then announced that the minimum wage would be increased by 7p to £5.80 per hour for over 22s, which would be introduced in October 2009.

Latest Eurostat figures show that the variation between countries’ minimum wages is vast – from €123 (£107) per month in Bulgaria to €1,642 (£1,434) in Luxembourg. Outside of Europe, figures for the United States show a minimum monthly wage of €844.

Looking at the wages expressed in PPS (Purchasing Power Standards which remove the effect of countries’ different price levels), instead of Euros, they still reveal Luxembourg as the country with the highest wages, closely followed by the Netherlands, while the UK ranks fifth.

Some EU countries have no statutory minimum wage, including Italy, Austria, Germany and Cyprus. The majority of countries base their minimum wage on a monthly rate, however a few, including the UK, France, Ireland along with the USA, fixed the wage at an hourly rate.

Worldwide, minimum wage has proved to be a contentious issue for some countries. There is currently a debate over the issue in Malaysia, where Indonesia is calling on the country to set a minimum wage of RM$800 (£139) for working maids to avoid exploitation.

In addition, Brazil has recently announced a 9% increase to its minimum wage, which will be implemented in 2010 as part of the government’s budget proposal.