Starting November 1, workers in the city of Geneva, Switzerland, will have the highest minimum wage in the world — about $25 per hour. That means a full-time worker in Geneva will get at least $4,350 per month.
Switzerland does not have a national minimum wage law. Instead, each of the country’s 26 cantons can decide their own minimum wage.
Geneva residents were asked to vote on whether to introduce a minimum wage, and more than 58% voted “yes,” making Geneva the third canton in the country to decide on a minimum wage.
The decision was praised by Michel Charrat, the president of a group that helps people living and working across the French-Swiss border. Speaking to The Guardian, Charrat said that $4,350 a month “is the minimum to not fall below the poverty line and find yourself in a very difficult situation.”
While Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world, it is also one of the most expensive to live in. Geneva is the world’s 10th most expensive city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2020 report.
Geneva’s minimum wage is now more than three times higher than that of the US, which is $7.25 per hour — although some cities have higher minimum wages, such as New York, which has a minimum wage of $15 per hour.
The highest national minimum wages in the world can be found in Luxembourg and Australia: about $14.60 in Luxembourg and $14.20 in Australia.
