Czech lawmakers have increased their salaries at a faster rate than their German counterparts. In 2014, the base salary of a German MP was €8,252 (approximately CZK 227,000), rising to €11,200 (around CZK 280,000) in 2023.
Meanwhile, Czech MPs saw their base salary nearly double during the same period. From less than CZK 56,000 in 2014, it has risen to almost CZK 109,000 as of July this year, following legislative amendments.
The trend aligns with broader wage growth in the two countries. Average salaries in the Czech Republic have grown more rapidly than in Germany over the past decade. In Germany, the average salary rose from €3,500 (approximately CZK 94,500 at the 2014 exchange rate of 27 CZK per euro) in 2014 to €4,400–€4,500 (CZK 110,000–112,000 at the 2023 exchange rate of 25 CZK per euro), an increase of about 30%. In contrast, the Czech average salary increased by approximately 75%, from CZK 24,768 in 2014 to CZK 44,943 in the first half of 2023.
Despite this, Czech MPs appear to be closing the salary gap with their German peers more quickly than ordinary workers. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) recently acknowledged this disparity on Czech television. Over the past decade, both Czech and German politicians have implemented occasional salary freezes. Czech MPs maintained a salary freeze until 2022, after which their salaries rose by nearly CZK 12,000, from CZK 90,000 to CZK 102,000. In contrast, German MPs’ salaries generally increase modestly each year, by a few hundred or thousand euros.
As of now, German MPs earn €11,227 monthly, with adjustments made annually on July 1, based on the nominal wage index calculated by the Federal Statistical Office, according to a statement from the German Bundestag.
