Australia is home to the most generous national minimum wage in the developed world, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, reports money.cnn.com.

The report ranked 27 countries that have laws setting a nationwide minimum rate of pay.

Australia's minimum wage workers -those aged 21 and over -- make AUD 15.96 (USD 12.61) per hour. After tax and other deductions, that's equivalent to USD 9.54, once the difference in the cost of living is taken into account.

"They have a high minimum wage. And interestingly they have a low tax burden," said Herwig Immervoll, the author of the OECD report. "[Australians] recognise that supporting low wage earners through the tax system is important."

Other countries have set higher hourly rates but they also tax minimum wage workers more, leaving them with less in their pockets.

The US ranked 11th on the list, with a federal minimum wage of USD 7.25 per hour. That leaves workers with take-home pay of USD 6.26 per hour.

However, the US would move up the rankings if state minimum wage rules were factored into the equation. Roughly half of US states have rules ensuring workers are paid more than the federal minimum, Mr Immervoll said.

The OECD report shows that a single Australian minimum wage worker with two kids could work just six hours per week to lift themselves above the poverty line, because they would also receive state benefits.

In the US, the same worker would have work 50 hours per week to escape poverty. In the Czech Republic, it would take 79 hours of work per week.

Eight countries, including Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, were not included in the report because their governments do not set national rules on minimum pay. Many of them have strong labour unions and established arrangements for collective bargaining, which means governments don't have to step in.

Here are the top five countries for hourly minimum wages, based on the latest OECD data from 2013:

To read the full report, click here.