Examined the dynamics of petrol price change in APAC and around the world in the first quarter of 2022 and calculated how many litres of petrol one can afford for an average wage in Pakistan.
In the first half of 2022, many countries in our region noted record-breaking increases in petrol prices. The anti-leader of this increase is Sri Lanka, where the petrol price increased by 129.5%. June, the average price of a litre of petrol in Pakistan was Rs 221.88. This price is 52.2% higher than in January, when, on average, a litre of petrol cost Rs 145.82. A significant increase in price can also be felt by car owners in the Philippines (+36.9%) and Indonesia (+47.7%).In Malaysia, petrol prices were stable throughout the first half of the year. In countries such as India, Taiwan and Japan, petrol prices increased only by a very small margin (+1.3%, +2.4% and +3.1% respectively).
Hongkongers, Singaporeans and New Zealanders are currently paying the most for their fuel, paying $3.00/litre, $2.33/litre and $2.09/litre respectively. In Pakistan, after conversion to dollar, the petrol price is one of the lowest in APAC – 15th place out of 17 accounted for countries at $1.08/litre. Low petrol prices can be enjoyed by citizens of Malaysia ($0.47/litre) and Taiwan ($1.05/litre). According to the newest data presented by Numbeo, the average wage in Pakistan is Rs 35,045.00 net monthly. This means that an average Pakistani for an average monthly wage can buy 158 litres of petrol. Compared to the previous year’s petrol index, the purchasing power of the average Pakistani wage in the context of petrol has significantly decreased.
This is what the petrol index in Pakistan looked like in the last few years
2019 – 192 litres
2020 – 351 litres
2021 – 319 litres
2022 – 158 litres
Having substantial raw material resources saved some countries from the increase in the price of petrol. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar were not affected by the world’s economic situation. The governments of countries such as Columbia, Ecuador and Kazakhstan have decided to either freeze or set the upper limit on petrol prices. In June of 2022, the lowest price of gasoline was noted in Algeria ($0.31/litre), Kuwait ($0.34/litre) and Iran ($0.35/litre). Hong Kong on the other hand stands out as the country with the highest price of gas per litre ($3/litre).In the global ranking of purchasing power, the podium still belongs to the Gulf countries: Qatar (5,968 litres), Kuwait (5,578 litres) and Saudi Arabia (4,372 litres).The poorest country in this comparison is Cuba, where the average wage is equal to only 27 litres of petrol.