Minimum wage by country in Africa ranges from about $374 a month in Mauritius to effectively nothing in countries like Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia, where no working national floor exists. In between, most countries set a monthly rate, but some use daily or hourly rates, and several set different minimums for each sector.
This guide lists the current minimum wage for all 54 African countries, with the date each rate took effect and a US dollar equivalent where a reliable exchange rate exists. It also covers what changed in 2026 and what employers should budget for beyond the legal minimum.
Key takeaways
- Mauritius has the highest minimum wage in Africa at MUR 17,745 a month (about $374), followed by Morocco and South Africa.
- Several major economies raised their minimum wage in 2026, including Kenya (up 12% from May), South Africa (R30.23 an hour from March) and Ghana (up 9% from January).
- Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan have no national minimum wage that works in practice.
- Many countries set rates by sector or by city, so the national figure is not always the one that applies to your hire.
- Skilled roles pay far above the minimum, and employer contributions add to the cost in every country.
How to read these tables
Each table shows the legal minimum in local currency, an approximate monthly or daily US dollar figure, and when the rate took effect. A few points to keep in mind:
- Private sector first. Where a country sets different rates for government and private employers, we show the private-sector rate, because that is the one that applies to most hires.
- Daily and hourly rates are shown as the law sets them. Ghana, for example, sets a daily rate, and South Africa sets an hourly one.
- Sector-based countries show a typical or starting rate. Always check the rate for your worker’s specific sector.
- USD figures use official exchange rates from August and September 2026 and are rounded. Where a currency is volatile or has no reliable official rate, we leave the USD column blank rather than guess.
Minimum wage by country in West Africa
| Country | Minimum wage | Approx. USD | In effect since / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benin | XOF 52,000/month | $90 | National rate |
| Burkina Faso | XOF 45,000/month | $77 | Non-agricultural workers |
| Cabo Verde | CVE 17,000/month | $175 | January 2025, private sector |
| Côte d’Ivoire | XOF 75,000/month | $129 | January 2023, non-agricultural sectors |
| The Gambia | GMD 50/day | Last published rate; set through wage councils | |
| Ghana | GH₵21.77/day | $1.80 to $2.00/day | January 1, 2026 (up 9%); about GH₵590/month over 27 working days |
| Guinea | GNF 550,000/month | $64 | National rate |
| Guinea-Bissau | No reliable current figure | Check with the labour ministry before hiring | |
| Liberia | Daily rates by skill level | Set under the Decent Work Act; check the current rate | |
| Mali | XOF 40,000/month | $69 | National rate |
| Mauritania | MRU 4,500/month | National rate (new ouguiya) | |
| Niger | XOF 42,000/month | $72 | October 2025 (up nearly 40%) |
| Nigeria | ₦70,000/month | $53 | July 2024; firms with fewer than 25 workers are exempt |
| Senegal | Hourly rate set by decree | Varies by sector; check the current decree | |
| Sierra Leone | NLe 1,200/month | December 2025 (up from NLe 800) | |
| Togo | XOF 52,500/month | $90 | National rate |
Minimum wage by country in North Africa
| Country | Minimum wage | Approx. USD | In effect since / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | DZD 24,000/month | $180 | January 2026 (up from DZD 20,000) |
| Egypt | EGP 7,000/month | $129 | March 2025, private sector; public sector rose to EGP 8,000 in July 2026. Firms with fewer than 10 workers can apply for exemption |
| Libya | LYD 1,000/month | $156 | January 2025 (up from LYD 450) |
| Morocco | MAD 3,423/month | $366 | January 2026, non-agricultural sector |
| Sudan | SDG 3,000/month | Civil servants; not reliably enforced during the conflict | |
| Tunisia | TND 528.320/month | January 2025, 48-hour week (TND 448.238 for a 40-hour week) |
Minimum wage by country in East Africa
| Country | Minimum wage | Approx. USD | In effect since / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burundi | BIF 105 to 160/day | Set decades ago; effectively obsolete | |
| Comoros | KMF 55,000/month | $126 | National rate |
| Djibouti | DJF 35,000/month | $197 | National rate |
| Eritrea | ERN 360/month | $24 | Public sector only |
| Ethiopia | No private-sector minimum | Pay set by contract or collective agreement | |
| Kenya | KSh 18,047/month | $139 | May 1, 2026 (up 12%). General labourer in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret, excluding housing allowance; lower in smaller towns |
| Madagascar | MGA 262,680/month | March 2024, non-agricultural sector | |
| Malawi | MK126,000/month | General minimum, urban and rural | |
| Mauritius | MUR 17,745/month | $374 | January 2026, full-time workers |
| Mozambique | From about MZN 6,700/month | From $105 | Set by sector; lowest in agriculture, highest in mining |
| Rwanda | RWF 100/day | Unchanged since 1974; some sectors use their own agreed rates | |
| Seychelles | SCR 40.95/hour | April 2025 | |
| Somalia | No statutory minimum | ||
| South Sudan | No statutory minimum | ||
| Tanzania | TZS 80,000 to 765,900/month | January 2026; set across 16 sectors, averaging about TZS 358,000 | |
| Uganda | No enforced minimum | A UGX 130,000 monthly rate has been proposed but is not enforced | |
| Zambia | Set by sector | January 2025 wage orders, e.g. ZMW 3,000 for bus drivers and ZMW 4,000 for truck drivers | |
| Zimbabwe | Set by sector | Agreed through industry employment councils; no single national floor |
Minimum wage by country in Central Africa
| Country | Minimum wage | Approx. USD | In effect since / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | AOA 70,000/month | $77 | AOA 50,000 for micro-enterprises |
| Cameroon | XAF 60,000/month | $103 | March 2023, private non-agricultural sector (XAF 45,000 in agriculture) |
| Central African Republic | XAF 35,000/month | $60 | National rate |
| Chad | XAF 60,000/month | $103 | Non-agricultural sectors |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | CDF 21,500/day | January 1, 2026 | |
| Equatorial Guinea | XAF 129,035/month | $222 | National rate |
| Gabon | XAF 150,000/month | $258 | Unchanged since 2010 |
| Republic of Congo | XAF 70,400/month | $121 | Private sector; government workers receive about XAF 90,000 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | STN 3,000/month | $138 | October 2025, public and private sectors |
Minimum wage by country in Southern Africa
| Country | Minimum wage | Approx. USD | In effect since / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana | About BWP 2,120/month | $154 | Benchmark rate; actual minimums vary by sector |
| Eswatini | From about SZL 1,453/month | From $86 | Set by sector and job grade; lowest for domestic workers |
| Lesotho | M2,724 to M3,041/month | $162 to $181 | April 2025, factory workers; other sectors differ |
| Namibia | N$18/hour | $1.07/hour | January 2025, first national minimum wage; phased rates for farm and domestic workers |
| South Africa | R30.23/hour (about R5,240/month) | $1.80/hour ($311/month) | March 1, 2026 (up 5%); also applies to farm and domestic workers |
Sources: government gazettes and labour ministry announcements for Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt; other rows compiled from national announcements, WageIndicator and EOR payroll guides published between February and September 2026. Currencies pegged to the rand (LSL, NAD, SZL) are converted at the rand rate, and CFA francs at about 581 per dollar.
Which African countries have the highest minimum wage?
Mauritius has the highest minimum wage in Africa, followed by Morocco and South Africa. Here are the ten highest monthly minimums in US dollar terms, based on the tables above:
| Rank | Country | Approx. USD per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauritius | $374 |
| 2 | Morocco | $366 |
| 3 | South Africa | $311 |
| 4 | Gabon | $258 |
| 5 | Equatorial Guinea | $222 |
| 6 | Djibouti | $197 |
| 7 | Algeria | $180 |
| 8 | Cabo Verde | $175 |
| 9 | Libya | $156 |
| 10 | Botswana | $154 |
Two things stand out. First, the continent’s largest economies are not near the top: Nigeria’s ₦70,000 works out to about $53, largely because of past currency depreciation. Second, the ranking moves with exchange rates, so a country can climb or fall without changing its wage at all.
Which African countries have no minimum wage?
Five African countries have no national minimum wage that works in practice. Somalia and South Sudan have no statutory minimum. Ethiopia has no minimum for the private sector. Rwanda’s official rate of RWF 100 a day dates from 1974 and is far below any real wage. Uganda has proposed a rate but does not enforce one.
No minimum wage does not mean no rules. Employers in these countries still have to follow labour law on contracts, working hours, leave and social security, and pay is usually set by contract, sector agreement or market rates.
What changed in 2026?
2026 has been a busy year for wage changes across Africa. The main updates so far:
- Kenya: a 12% rise for general workers and 15% for agricultural workers, effective May 1, 2026. Employers had to pay arrears back to May once the orders were gazetted.
- South Africa: the national minimum rose from R28.79 to R30.23 an hour on March 1, 2026.
- Ghana: the daily minimum rose 9%, from GH₵19.97 to GH₵21.77, on January 1, 2026.
- Morocco, Algeria and Mauritius: all raised their national minimums in January 2026.
- Tanzania and DR Congo: both revised their rates from January 2026.
- Egypt: the public-sector minimum rose to EGP 8,000 in July 2026. A matching private-sector rise is expected but had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
- Nigeria: no change yet, but the Federal Government has signalled a review of the ₦70,000 rate. See our minimum wage in Nigeria guide for the latest.
What will you actually pay beyond the minimum wage?
The minimum wage is a legal floor, not a hiring budget. Two things push real costs higher.
Market rates for skilled roles. Developers, designers, analysts and experienced support staff earn many times the minimum in every major market. For Nigeria, see our guides to the average salary in Nigeria and software engineer salary in Nigeria.
Employer contributions and mandatory bonuses. Every country adds statutory costs on top of salary, such as pension or social security contributions. Some also require extra payments: Mauritius requires an end-of-year bonus, and Angola requires Christmas and holiday allowances. For a full worked example in one country, see how much it costs to hire someone in Nigeria.
Hiring in more than one African country? Get a monthly cost breakdown for each role and country, including statutory contributions, from Betternship’s hiring team. Request a cost breakdown.
How do you stay compliant when hiring across Africa?
Foreign companies usually hire in Africa in one of three ways, and each handles wage compliance differently.
Set up a local entity. You register a company in each country and employ staff directly. This gives you full control but means tracking wage changes, contributions and filings country by country. It usually makes sense once you have a sizeable team in one market.
Hire freelancers or contractors. This is the fastest option for project work, and minimum wage laws generally cover employees, not genuine contractors. The risk comes when a contractor works like a full-time employee, which can lead to claims for unpaid wages and benefits.
Use an Employer of Record. An Employer of Record, like Betternship, legally employs your hires in each country on your behalf. We run local payroll, apply wage changes when they take effect, and handle statutory contributions, while you manage the day-to-day work. It is usually the quickest way to hire full-time staff in several countries without setting up entities. Learn more about our Employer of Record in Africa service, or post a job for free on Betternship.