Recalculated for affordability: A few days ago we published a list of EU fuel prices, the cheapest being Poland and Estonia. But the price at the pump does not give us the whole picture, until compared to average wages.
Bulgaria, Romania, work hard to earn a tankful
In Poland we go from second-cheapest, to 7th most expensive. Estonia goes from cheapest, to a costly 11th-most-expensive.
The “cheapest” become the UK, Austria, Sweden and Luxembourg. Taste the irony.
While it only applies to purchases by wage earners – not companies – and it’s not necessarily a true reflection of actual spending power – it paints a very different picture, turning the price table almost upside down.
On the surface Romania and Bulgaria seemed to benefit from low fuel prices at the pump – but when adjusted for the locals income, not so much. Romanians must work an astounding 53 hours to buy 100L of petrol, almost seven working days.
A dramatic aspect is the difference between most and least: Romanians have almost 10 times more work to do than Luxembourgians for their fuel.
So here they are, ranked by weighted-most-expensive.
European Union petrol price rankings adjusted by average wage
| Country | Hours work to buy 100L | Price of E95 per litre |
| Romania | 53.16 | 1.148 |
| Bulgaria | 52.83 | 1.072 |
| Latvia | 46.53 | 1.102 |
| Lithuania | 36.82 | 1.141 |
| Hungary | 32.41 | 1.077 |
| Slovakia | 30.06 | 1.249 |
| Poland | 26.84 | 1.064 |
| Czech Republic | 25.45 | 1.154 |
| Croatia | 25.24 | 1.191 |
| Portugal | 20.95 | 1.384 |
| Estonia | 20.18 | 1.05 |
| Slovenia | 19.98 | 1.241 |
| EU Average | 19.78 | 1.344 |
| Greece | 18.09 | 1.427 |
| Malta | 15.36 | 1.35 |
| Italy | 13.62 | 1.478 |
| Cyprus | 12.17 | 1.196 |
| Spain | 11.19 | 1.174 |
| Ireland | 9.38 | 1.339 |
| France | 9.33 | 1.297 |
| Belgium | 9.32 | 1.300 |
| Finland | 9.27 | 1.436 |
| Germany | 9.22 | 1.334 |
| Netherlands | 8.56 | 1.497 |
| Denmark | 8.47 | 1.457 |
| United Kingdom | 8.42 | 1.489 |
| Austria | 7.98 | 1.157 |
| Sweden | 7.58 | 1.338 |
| Luxembourg | 5.66 | 1.126 |
This does give a great perspective on things, but somehow saying “UK petrol is cheap” just feels wrong.
One thing this illustrates is how governments will raise fuel tax in line with affordability, and how much drivers pay in fuel tax – usually from salaries they have already been taxed on – for the privilege of driving.
SEE ALSO: Polish drivers’ “responsible to stop” for pedestrians will “turn upside down everything we know”
So does anyone have below average rankings both at pump prices, and days-worked for 100 litres?
Yes. Austria, Belguim, Cyprus, France, Ireland, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
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