How many litres of diesel an average salary buys: North Macedonia compared with the region
A regional comparison by Dejan Dimovski shows that cheaper pump prices in North Macedonia buy fewer litres per average salary than in several neighbouring countries.
An analysis comparing diesel prices to wages shows that lower pump prices in North Macedonia do not automatically mean greater affordability for households.
Dejan Dimovski of Engineers of North Macedonia compared diesel prices and wages across nine countries in the region and found large differences once the price per litre is set against average or minimum pay.
What the calculation reveals
On 22 September diesel in North Macedonia cost 104.5 denars per litre, after a rise of 5.5 denars. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has repeatedly asserted that North Macedonia has the cheapest fuels in the region and even claimed they are convincingly the cheapest in Europe. Dimovski’s table, however, shows that with one average salary in North Macedonia a person can buy roughly 464 litres of diesel, compared with about 851 litres in Slovenia, 775 litres in Croatia and 610 litres in Greece.
Those differences change the picture of how much fuel weighs on household living standards: a low price at the pump can be offset by lower wages, reducing real purchasing power for fuel.
The government has so far intervened by cutting excise duties and applying a reduced VAT rate of 10 instead of 18 percent on diesel. After the most recent 5.5-denar increase, no new package of measures has been announced. Minister of Energy Sanja Bozhinovska said the government will consider further interventions if price growth continues, while for now existing mechanisms remain in place.
Photo: press material from the event
