Energy Purchasing Power Index

July 2026 snapshot · 121 countries, 51 US states, 8 Australian states

I could not find an interesting answer to the question: how much energy does one hour of work at the median income actually buy?

kWh / hour
- (median household income ÷ 2,080 hours) ÷ price per kWh
kWh / worked hour
- (median household income ÷ avg annual hours actually worked) ÷ price per kWh
- Uses the OECD's measured hours per worker instead of the 2,080 convention. This credits countries that earn their incomes in fewer hours. Available for 43 countries.

The Index

#	Country	kWh / hour ▾	kWh / worked hour	USD / kWh

Click any row for its exact figures, data years, sources, and data-quality flag. The worked-hour column divides by the OECD's average annual hours actually worked per worker (available for 43 countries) instead of the fixed 2,080, so it credits countries that earn their incomes in fewer hours. Prices shown in USD at market rates purely for column comparability; the index itself is computed in local currency.

Sources

Every row carries its exact sources and data years in the row detail (click a row in the table). The main source families:

Income
- Eurostat EU-SILC (ilc_di03), OECD Income Distribution Database, US Census ACS B19013, ABS Census, and national statistical offices
Electricity
- Eurostat (nrg_pc_204), US EIA, the AER / Victorian Default Offer and state regulators for Australia, national regulators elsewhere, and GlobalPetrolPrices for countries without accessible official statistics
Petrol
- GlobalPetrolPrices, AAA state averages, the ACCC, and national sources