Bulgaria fuel affordability analyzed against average salaries

Economist Adrian Nikolov from the Institute for Market Research has analyzed the purchasing power of Bulgarian workers regarding liquid fuels. By comparing the average monthly price of A95 gasoline and diesel against the average monthly salary of employees, the study assesses how much fuel a worker can afford.

Data used for the calculation includes weekly prices from the European Commission's oil bulletin. The analysis focuses on employees rather than total household income because workers are primary fuel consumers who often cannot reduce consumption due to commuting needs.

Historical comparisons dating back to 2008 show that while crises like the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine cause sharp drops in affordability, the long-term trend in Bulgaria has been an increase in purchasing power. The lowest point of fuel affordability was recorded in late 2008, when an average salary could only purchase approximately 200 liters of fuel.