
I went to get some petrol today. It is really not recommended for the faint-hearted. Today, the price for Octane 95 in Zürich is around CHF 2.11 (~$2.24) per liter. Definitely feeling the pinch. Let’s see how the others are faring.
In Greece, one would have had to pay approximately 6% of their average monthly wage for a full tank of gas this past Monday due to the price hike connected to the crisis in Ukraine. This is the highest figure among all OECD countries.
According to combined data from the OECD and GlobalPetrolPrices.com, in the US one had to pay 1.2% of the country's average monthly wage for 60 liters (or 16-gallon tank) of petrol at the stations. Mexico had one of the highest shares at 4.8%.
This disparity can be partly explained by the general state of wealth and the labour markets in the corresponding countries as well as their ability to produce fuel themselves, like in the case for the US. So, while in Denmark you had to pay an average of $2.40 per liter of Octane 95 at the station on March 7, a full tank would only amount to roughly 3% of the average monthly wage of roughly $4,900. Greek motorists, on the other hand, had to contend with $2.10 per liter at the pumps against an average monthly income of $2,267.
Source: Statistica