PH ranks low on gasoline affordability index

The Philippines ranks 84th out of 108 economies worldwide in terms of gasoline affordability, with a liter costing about $1.04 or about P52 per liter as of Jan. 20, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com

The United States-based research institute said that in the Philippines, a 40-liter gasoline fill-up—representing the average size of a vehicle’s fuel tank—represents 16 percent of the average monthly income per person in the Philippines.

The group said this was based on its own data on global fuel prices as well as World bank data on gross national product per capita.

The World Bank pegged Philippine gross domestic product per capita at $3,022 in 2018 or about P154,000. This translates to $252 or about P13,000 a month.

Worldwide, gasoline is most affordable in Qatar where the cost of a 40-liter fill-up eats up 0.4 percent of a Qatari’s monthly income.However, the ranking did not include Venezuela where motorists pay nil for gasoline as well as Saudi Arabia, the biggest crude oil producer among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

A liter of gasoline costs $0.55 per liter or about half of the cost in the Philippines.

Also, gasoline is most expensive in Malawi where a full tank represents of 115.8 percent of the average monthly income in that landlocked country in southeastern Africa.

Among the world’s biggest oil producers, a full tank is 0.6 percent of an American’s monthly income and 3.2 percent of a Russian’s.

In the United States where gasoline is bought by the gallon, a liter of gasoline costs $0.76. In Russia, petrol costs an equivalent of $0.74 per liter.

Not counting Venezuela, gasoline is cheapest in Iran—which is not included in the affordability ranking—at $0.11 per liter and dearest in Hong Kong where it costs $2.30 per liter. INQ