Fuel Takes Biggest Bite out of Greeks’ Pocketbooks

Of all the European motoring nations, the Greeks spend more of their annual income on fuel for their cars than anyone else.

Research by a price comparison website, Confused.com, suggests the average Greek driver has to allocate 13.13% of his or her annual salary on fueling the cars they drive, laboring under the average annual bill of €1,153.26 ($1,171.72). The country comes at the top of spend on fuel. largely owing to lower average worker earnings compared with more prosperous European nations.

The research for the third quarter of 2022 was calculated by analyzing official data on each country’s average yearly income in comparison to their average fuel consumption and fuel prices per liter including gasoline and diesel. 

The price-per-liter of fuel in Greece, at €2.40 ($2.43 [$9.20/gallon]), is the third-highest in Europe. This is only cheaper than Finland, at €2.53 ($2.55) per liter, and the Netherlands at €2.48 ($2.50) per liter. However, when looking only at their annual fuel expenditure, Greek drivers’ bills are the fourth-lowest in Europe.

Following Greece is Portugal, with drivers predicted to spend 9.79% of their income on fuel per year. That’s nearly double the 5.41% of income neighboring Spanish drivers spend on fuel. Portuguese motorists pay €2.15 ($2.17) per liter for refueling, a total annual fuel expenditure of €1,057.07 ($1,073.99) on average. This is 8.3% less than first-place Greece.

The U.K. ranks third, with drivers expected to spend 8.21% of their salary each year to fill their tanks. The annual fuel bill for British drivers is the third-highest in Europe, averaging €1,761.96 ($1,790.16). A liter of gasoline costs about €2.16 in the U.K. (the same as Sweden), although it’s cheaper than in Greece and the Netherlands.

With only 3.76% of annual income spent on fuel, Luxembourg has the best fuel economics of all countries analyzed. The country enjoys remarkably low tax rates on motor vehicles, and it also is known for high average salaries in its burgeoning financial sector, particularly post-Brexit. Boasting the cheapest fuel price per liter in Europe at €1.90 ($1.92 [$7.40/gallon]), the total annual fuel bill for drivers the country is €1,423.82 ($1,446.61).