One in four Europeans lie about their salary during job interviews, new research has claimed.

According to a report published Tuesday by Dutch research firm Intelligence Group (IG), a fifth of Europeans have exaggerated their current salary by 10% or more.

IG surveyed 60,000 people across 28 European countries online last year.

The research showed that one in four candidates did not tell the truth about their earnings, with almost 40% of those who lied saying they lifted their real salary by 15% to 25%.

Researchers also found that men were more inclined to exaggerate their salary in an effort to secure a higher offer from potential employers, with 28% of men admitting to lying about their income compared to 24% of women.

Men also negotiated their salary offer during the recruitment process more often than women. Overall, less than half of Europeans said they would try to negotiate on salary with a new employer.

German jobseekers were more likely than any other nationality to exaggerate their salary during the interview process, with 43% of Germans admitting to exaggerating their earnings, the data showed.

Slovakians and Austrians were the next most likely to lie about their incomes, according to the research.

Meanwhile, people from Greece were the most honest about their earnings, with three in four candidates telling the truth about their current salary in job interviews.

Elsewhere, the U.K. was listed as one nation where people were most likely to mention a lower income than their current salary. Brits were the least likely to negotiate a salary offer, accepting offers more quickly than other Europeans.

Bulgarian, Slovenian and Romanian candidates exaggerated their salaries to the highest extent, with around half saying they had added 20 to 25% onto their current wages when asked about earnings by a potential employer.