Diesel prices may not be the highest in South Africa compared to the rest of the world, but they take up a larger percentage of one’s income.

South African motorists were hit with a massive increase in the price of diesel at the start of this month, with prices hiked by between R2.76 and R2.84 a litre.

To make matters worse, mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund already shows that diesel prices are set to skyrocket by between R1.93 and R2.03 per litre in October, bringing more even pain to cash-strapped motorists.

Moreover, the increase in diesel prices also affects the prices of other goods in the economy, particularly food.

With load shedding reaching record levels over the last 12 months, many producers and retailers have resorted to using diesel-powered generators to meet their energy needs.

For instance, South Africa’s biggest retailer, Shoprite, spent over R1.3 billion on diesel during the year ended 2 July 2023 to help minimise the effects of load shedding.

With the pain of diesel prices weighing heavily on South African consumers, we have decided to compare the price per litre of diesel in South Africa compared to the rest of the world.

According to data from Globalpetolprices.com, South Africa has the 69th highest diesel price in the world, with it costing R25.161 per litre.

The most expensive in the world is Hong Kong, where it costs close to R55 for a litre of petrol.

“As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices, while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices,” the website said.

Below is a breakdown of the most expensive countries to buy petrol:

Rank	Country	Diesel price per litre in ZAR
1	Hong Kong	54.372
2	Sweden	44.249
3	Iceland	44.156
4	Liechtenstein	43.498
5	Switzerland	43.286
6	Central African Republic	41.705
7	Monaco	41.625
8	Finland	40.831
9	Belgium	39.814
10	Norway	39.805
–	–	–
69	South Africa	25.161

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Proportional spend

That said, countries that may have higher costs for diesel usually pay a smaller part of their yearly earnings compared to South Afrca

Below is a table of the average annual earnings in OECD countries in dollars after tax (2022), converted to rands, and split across 365 days for the daily average:

Country	Annual Earnings in USD	Annual Earnings in ZAR	Daily Earnings in ZAR
Switzerland	$77 082.31	R1 468 471.19	R4 023.21
Luxembourg	$56 103.80	R1 068 791.98	R2 928.20
Netherlands	$55 373.47	R1 055 550.68	R2 891.92
Iceland	$53 059.71	R1 010 824.09	R2 769.38
Norway	$51 383.52	R979 492.70	R2 683.54
South Korea	$50 569.15	R963 968.86	R2 641.01
Ireland	$50 472.79	R962 132.01	R2 635.98
Australia	$50 402.61	R960 204.50	R2 630.70
UK	$48 972.48	R933 532.51	R2 557.62
USA	$48 793.23	R929 544.70	R2 546.70
Canada	$48 313.96	R920 979.55	R2 523.23
Austria	$47 089.61	R897 640.51	R2 459.29
Germany	$47 013.13	R896 182.62	R2 455.29
Belgium	$44 305.15	R844 562.05	R2 313.86
Sweden	$43 495.96	R829 136.95	R2 271.60
France	$43 005.83	R819 793.90	R2 246.01
Finland	$42 550.44	R808 613.67	R2 215.38
Japan	$41 776.07	R796 351.74	R2 181.79
Italy	$38 087.19	R726 032.87	R1 989.13
New Zealand	$37 965.98	R723 722.32	R1 982.80
Israel	$37 219.39	R709 490.53	R1 943.80
Spain	$36 961.57	R704 575.86	R1 930.34
Poland	$29 734.88	R566 817.88	R1 552.92
Czech Republic	$29 318.99	R558 890.02	R1 531.20
Estonia	$27 828.38	R530 475.43	R1 453.35
Portugal	$27 699.00	R528 009.14	R1 446.60
Slovenia	$27 559.83	R525 356.23	R1 439.33
Greece	$27 549.97	R525 168.27	R1 438.82
Hungary	$26 295.60	R501 256.98	R1 373.30
Chile	$24 848.43	R473 670.46	R1 297.73
Slovak Republic	$21 747.64	R414 562.00	R1 135.79
Turkey	$21 638.69	R412 485.15	R1 130.10
Mexico	$13 489.50	R257 142/11	R704.50

South Africa is not part of the OECD, so we have taken data from the latest BanskServAfrica Take-Home Pay Index, which has South Africans earning R15,503 a month – or R550.90.

Looking at the data, South Africans pay the largest part of their salaries for a litre of diesel, with 5% of one’s daily earnings needed to buy a litre of diesel.

This is followed by Mexico, where 3.72% of one’s daily income is needed to buy a litre of diesel.

On the other end of the scale, South Koreans and Americans only pay a mere 0.88% and 0.89% of their daily salaries on diesel.

Country	Daily-earnings in ZAR	Disesel price per litre in ZAR	% of income
South Africa	R500.09	R25.161	5.00%
Mexico	R704.50	R26.239	3.72%
Slovak Republic	R1 135.79	R33.304	2.93%
Greece	R1 438.82	R36.396	2.53%
Hungary	R1 373.30	R34.385	2.50%
Portugal	R1 446.60	R35.643	2,45%
Estonia	R1 453.35	R34.179	2.35%
Turkey	R1 130.10	R26.676	2.30%
Slovenia	R1 439.33	R32.510	2.25%
Czech Republic	R1 531.20	R31.606	2.06%
Sweden	R2 271.60	R44.249	1.94%
Italy	R1 989.13	R38.557	1.93%
Finland	R2 215.38	R40.831	1.84%
Poland	R1 552.92	R28.185	1.81%
Israel	R1 943.80	R33.790	1.74%
Spain	R1 930.34	R33.294	1.72%
Belgium	R2 313.86	R39.814	1.72%
France	R2 246.01	R38.282	1.7%
Chile	R1 297.73	R21.591	1.67%
Iceland	R2 769.38	R44.156	1.59%
Germany	R2 455.29	R36.356	1.48%
Norway	R2 683.54	R39.805	1.48%
Austria	R2 459.29	R35.501	1.44%
UK	R2 557.62	R36.902	1.44%
Ireland	R2 635.98	R35.027	1.33%
Netherlands	R2 891.92	R38.105	1.31%
New Zealand	R1 982.80	R25.472	1.28%
Luxembourg	R2 928.20	R34.667	1.18%
Switzerland	R4 023.21	R43.286	1.07%
Canada	R2 523.23	R26.590	1.05%
Japan	R2 181.79	R21.132	0.96%
Australia	R2 630.70	R23.827	0.91%
USA	R2 546.70	R22.685	0.89%
South Korea	R2 641.01	R23.273	0.88%

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Read: Petrol and diesel price warning for South Africa