Which Countries Have No Minimum Wage? (And How They Pay Workers)

Six wealthy countries have no statutory minimum wage: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Italy. A seventh — Austria — has a de facto floor of €1,500/month set by collective agreements but no statutory law.

What they have instead is near-universal collective bargaining. In Denmark, around 82% of workers are covered by sector-wide collective agreements negotiated between unions and employer federations. A hotel cleaner's wage isn't set by parliament — it's set by the 3F union and HORESTA employer association, and the resulting floor (DKK 125+/hr for unskilled workers) is often higher than in neighboring countries with formal minimums.

Sweden's coverage is even higher at roughly 88%, and Finland sits at 89%. Norway uses a hybrid — no general minimum, but the Tariff Board can "extend" sectoral agreements to be legally binding for outsiders, effectively creating industry-level minimums for construction, hospitality, and cleaning.

Switzerland voted down a national minimum wage in 2014 (76% against), but five cantons have since set their own: Geneva (CHF 24.48/hr), Neuchâtel, Jura, Ticino, and Basel-Stadt. Geneva's is the single highest minimum wage in the world by any measure. This only works because Swiss cantons have unusual legislative autonomy.

Italy's case is different. Collective bargaining covers ~85% of workers, but the agreements are older and wage floors have eroded. Italy has debated introducing a statutory minimum (around €9/hr) repeatedly since 2015 — it remains unresolved as of 2026 despite EU directive 2022/2041 urging adequate minimum wages across member states.

The Nordic model works when unions are strong and employer federations are willing to negotiate. It starts to fail in countries with weak collective bargaining coverage — which is exactly why the EU directive nudged Italy and others toward formal minimums while explicitly protecting the Nordic collective agreement tradition.