Global Cost Of Electricity

Due to a range of worldwide events over the last couple of years, the costs of many things have increased. The one that’s talked about and features in news headlines most, especially in the UK, is the incredibly inflated cost of electricity.

While the UK has been highlighted as one of the countries struggling most with electricity costs and the cost of living in general, have we been hit the hardest? Covid and other factors have affected countless other countries besides the UK. As such, we want to know which countries are paying the most for electricity.

Our electric car leasing experts at DriveElectric have researched electricity costs for OECD countries and the average electricity consumption per capita, which we will compare against the average wages of these countries.

OECD countries paying the least for electricity per kWh

1. Mexico

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.08

The country that has the lowest cost of electricity per kWh, is Mexico, just south of the US border. As of December 2022, the people in Mexico paid around £0.08 per kWh, making it the most affordable country in the world for electricity.

2. South Korea

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.09

Tied for second place for countries with the lowest electricity costs, we have South Korea, in East Asia. The people of South Korea only paid £0.09 per kWh for their electricity as of December 2022.

2. Hungary

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.09

And it is Hungary, the landlocked Central European country that shares second place with South Korea, also having a cost of £0.09 per kWh for electricity.

4. Canada

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.10

And rounding out the top three, we have Canada as the country that has the fourth lowest price for electricity. As of December 2022, the price of electricity in Canada is just £0.10.

1. Italy

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.62

The country with the highest electricity price per kWh is Italy, which stretches along the Mediterranean Sea. The price of electricity in this country is £0.62 per kWh as of December 2022.

3. Austria

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.55

And coming in second place, we have a neighbour of Italy in Austria, the Central European country also home to a portion of the Eastern Alps. As of December 2022, the cost of electricity in the country was £0.55 per kWh.

3. Belgium

Cost of Electricity per kWh (December 2022): £0.51

And in third place, for countries that have the highest price for electricity, we have Belgium, the headquarters for both the European Union and NATO. The cost of electricity, as of December 2022, is £0.51 per kWh.

1. Mexico

Percentage of Wages Spent on Electricity Bills Annually: 1.39%

Mexico comes out on top for countries that spend the least amount of their wages on electricity bills yearly, based on their average consumption of 2,375 kWh and a cost of £0.08 per kWh. Annually, people in Mexico spend around £183 on their electricity bills, which is just 1.39% of the country’s average annual wage of £13,124.

2. Hungary

Percentage of Wages Spent on Electricity Bills Annually: 1.76%

Taking the second spot is Hungary, for countries spending the lowest amount of their wages on electricity bills. Based on its average electricity consumption and the current cost of electricity per kWh, people in Hungary spend around £394 on annual electricity bills, which is just 1.76% of the average annual wage for Hungary, which is £22,397 on average.

3. Poland

Percentage of Wages Spent on Electricity Bills Annually: 2.27%

And finishing off the top three countries that spend the least amount of their wages on electricity, we have the European country of Poland. The average electricity consumption per capita for Poland is around 4,201 kWh, and the cost of electricity per kWh is £0.16, which means people in Poland spend around £660 on their annual electricity bill. Compared to the average annual wage for Poland, which is £29,021, that is just 2.27%.

1. Finland

Percentage of Wages Spent on Electricity Bills Annually: 10.73%

The people of Finland spend the most on their electricity bills compared to the average annual wage. Based on the average electricity consumption of 15,090 kWh and the cost of £0.29 per kWh, they pay around £4,376 on their electricity bill, which is 10.73% of their average annual wage of £40,772.

2. Sweden

Percentage of Wages Spent on Electricity Bills Annually: 10.60%

And coming in second, we have Sweden as the country spending the largest amount of their wages on electricity bills. Based on the country's average consumption of electricity, which is 12,510 kWh, and the cost of electricity per kWh being £0.34, they spend £4,203 on electricity bills annually. That is 10.6% of the country’s average annual wage of £39,647.

3. Iceland

Percentage of Wages Spent on Electricity Bills Annually: 9.63%

Iceland takes the third spot, with its residents spending around 9.63% of their average annual wage on electricity. This is based on their average annual electricity consumption being 49,725 kWh and the cost of electricity being £0.12, meaning the average annual electricity bill is around £6,017.

Special mention: Additionally, while the residents of the Netherlands have spent around 5.28% of their wages on electricity bills, this is likely in part due to the EV adoption rate. There has been heavy backing from the Dutch government, and the EV sales penetration rate in the country is currently at 38%, more than double the global average of 18%.

The cost of electricity has dominated the UK news for well over a year, as the winter of 2022 saw energy prices in the UK reach a record high. In 2021 the average annual domestic electricity bill in the UK was £769 per household; however, in 2022, it was close to £2,000, which is a massive 200% increase. 

As of December 2022, the cost of electricity in the UK was around £0.39 per kWh, which ranked the UK as having the 9th highest electricity cost amongst OECD countries. France, however, ranked 24th with a cost of just £0.17 per kWh. And Ireland, the UK’s neighbour, was 6th, costing £0.47 per kWh.

The UK, on average, spent just below 5% of their wages on electricity bills; likely, it was much higher than that for people on lower incomes than the average of £34,476. In the United States, another country that has struggled economically recently, people spend just 2.69% of their wages on electricity, ranking them the 29th highest or 6th lowest.