How does the UK compare with Europe when it comes to rising energy bills?

The UK continues to face the highest rise in energy prices since 1988, which means the average home spends up to £1,646 every year on electricity alone. Since January 2022, the UK has faced a 129% increase in gas prices and 66% increase in electricity prices. This has resulted in homes across Britain reconsidering their energy usage as many families face bills they cannot afford to pay. And while energy bills have experienced dramatic increases, the UK average salary has only risen by 4% since 2020.

In response to this, we’ve conducted extensive research analysing how the UK compares with Europe when it comes to the rising cost of energy. We’ve also investigated how this correlates with the average annual salary of each of the 27 European countries considered.

Which European Countries have the Lowest End User Electricity Prices?

The European Countries with the Highest End User Electricity Prices

The European countries paying the highest proportion of their annual salary to electricity bills

The European countries paying the lowest proportion of their annual salary to electricity bills

Where does the UK’s electricity bills sit in comparison to Europe?

How European countries are tackling rising energy prices

Our research found Hungary to be the European country with the lowest end user electricity prices, with an average electricity bill of £312.02 a year or £26 per month. However, those in Hungary have one of the lowest annual full-time salaries, averaging at just £11,222 per year, or £935 a month. This means that around 3% of this income will be spent on electricity bills.

2. Serbia

Serbia has the second lowest end user electricity prices across the 27 European countries analysed, averaging at £314.79 a year, just £2.77 more than in Hungary. In Serbia, the average annual salary is £12,736, which is a considerable £1,514 more than in Hungary, meaning that 2% of Serbian’s salaries are spent on electricity bills.

3. Croatia

According to our study, Croatia has the third lowest end user electricity prices of the countries analysed. Here, you can expect to spend around £498.53 on your annual electricity bill, a considerable leap from the £214 paid in Serbia. However, to counter this, the average annual salary in Croatia is £14,381, which is £1,645 more than those in Serbia are currently earning. This means Croatians are spending around 3% of their income on electricity bills

4. Bulgaria

In fourth place is Bulgaria with an average end user electricity price of 15.28 c€/kwh. In this country, the average price per annual electricity bill is £529.73, however, our research found Bulgaria has the lowest average annual salary of the 27 European countries analysed, where residents will earn around £9,201 per year. This means 6% of Bulgarian’s salaries are currently spent on their electricity bills.

5. Romania

In fourth place is Bulgaria with an average end user electricity price of 15.28 c€/kwh. In this country, the average price per annual electricity bill is £529.73, however, our research found Bulgaria has the lowest average annual salary of the 27 European countries analysed, where residents will earn around £9,201 per year. This means 6% of Bulgarian’s salaries are currently spent on their electricity bills.

While electricity is cheapest in these countries, they're also among the lowest average salaries in Europe.

Our research found Italy to have the highest end user electricity price across the 27 countries analysed, averaging at 63.73 per kwh. This is 54.73 more than found in Hungary. In Italy, you can expect to spend around £2,209.41 on your annual electricity bill, which is a whopping £1,897.39 more than those in Hungary pay.

2. Germany

Germany appeared second in the list of European countries with the highest end user electricity prices. In this country, an average annual electricity bill is £1,878.33, and the average annual salary is £39,492, meaning residents in this country are currently spending around 5% of their income on electricity.

3. Denmark

According to our findings, in Denmark, the average annual electricity bill is £1,831.18. However, our research suggests Denmark has the second highest average annual salary, at around £56,264. This means that although Denmark has one of the highest average annual electricity bills, residents of this country currently spend around 3% of their income on electricity.

4. UK

In fourth place is the UK. On average, we spend around £1,646.40 on our annual electricity bill. The UK has the fourth highest electricity price, at 47.49 c€/kWh which works out as around 56.68 £p/kWh. However, our research suggests the average unit price across the 27 European countries is 29.98 c€/kWh, or around 26.67 £p/kWh. The average salary in the UK also currently stands at £33,320, meaning Brits spend around 5% of their income on electricity bills.

5. Sweden

In fifth place is Sweden. Here, the average annual electricity bill is £1,539.97. Comparing this with the average annual salary of this country at £41,743, those in Sweden are expected to spend around 4% of their income to cover their household electricity usage.

We’ve also researched which of the European countries we’ve analysed are paying the highest proportion of their annual salary towards electricity bills.

1. Czech Republic

On average those in the Czech Republic are paying the highest proportion of their annual salary towards electricity bills. This country has the 6th highest electricity prices (on average £1,411.35 a year), paired with the 20th lowest salary, which on average is £16,177 annually, meaning that around 9% of this country's salaries will go towards their electricity bills.

2. Italy

Not only did our study find Italy is the European country with the highest end user electricity prices, but it also has the second highest proportion of salary going towards electricity bills. In Italy, around 8% (or £2,209.41) of the average annual salary of £26,638 is used to cover the electricity bills. Italy is also the only western European country to make the top five, and this is due to them having the highest electricity prices in Europe. Whilst the average Italian salary is quite moderate, sitting 12th in the study.

3. Greece

In third place is Greece where on average 7% of the annual salary in this country is used to pay for electricity bills. Our research found Greece's average salary to be £14,123, and an average annual electricity bill is £990.82.

4. Estonia

Our research found Estonia to have the fourth highest proportion of their annual salary spent on electricity bills. Around 7% (or £1,266.43) of the average annual salary in Estonia of £19,105 is spent on electricity bills every year.

5. Latvia

Latvia has the fifth highest proportion of their annual salary spent on electricity bills. We found the average annual salary in this country is £16,638, and 6% or £1,076.80 is spent on electricity bills every year.

6. Poland

The average annual salary in Poland to be £12,835, which was ranked 25th out of all the European countries. With a lower-than-average salary, it’s no surprise to see Poland using 6% of this to cover electricity bills, which the research found to be £780.04 per year.

7. Bulgaria

Bulgaria appeared in seventh place. In this country the average annual salary is £9,201, the lowest in the study. Whilst the average annual electricity bill is £1,117 less than in the UK (£529.73), this consumes around 6% of Bulgarian’s annual income.

8. Lithuania

Lithuania is the eighth European country with the highest proportion of salary to electricity bills. In Lithuania, the average salary is £19,336 and an average annual electricity bill will set you back around £970.71.

9. UK

The UK ranked ninth across 27 other European countries for highest proportion of salary to electricity bills. Here, 5% of Brits annual income is used to cover the average electricity bill of £1,646.

10. Romania

In tenth place is Romania. Matching the UK, this country will spend around 5% of their annual income on electricity bills as the average salary currently sits at £11,562, and the average annual electricity bill at £563.71.

1. Norway

Our research discovered Norway to be paying the lowest proportion of their annual salary to electricity bills. This country boasts the third highest salary in the study, averaging around £51,755 per year, and also has considerably low electricity prices, with an average annual bill costing just £584.16. Meaning those in Norway are spending just 1% of their salary on electricity bills.

2. Serbia

In second place is Serbia. The average annual salary in Serbia is £23,949 and around 1% or £314.79 of this goes towards the resident’s annual electricity bill. As we've already determined, Serbia has the second lowest end user electricity prices.

3. Switzerland

Switzerland appeared in third place, with on average just 1% of resident's annual salary used to cover their electricity bills. This comes as no surprise as this country has the highest salary overall of the 27 European countries analysed. However, the average electricity prices rank 15th highest, where an annual bill will set you back around £966.90.

4. Slovenia

Slovenia is another country where just 1% of the annual salary is spent on electricity bills. Here, the average annual salary is £25,583, and the average annual electricity bill is £604.27.

5. France

Sitting in the 2% category, we have France. In this country, the average annual salary is £35,696, which is over £10,000 more than those receive in Slovenia. However, in France, the average annual electricity bill is £848.68, which is just following behind Switzerland in 16th place for highest electricity prices.

6. Republic of Ireland

And finally, joining France in the 2% category is the Republic of Ireland. According to our findings, the average annual salary here is £41,635 and the average yearly electricity bill is £868.04, meaning those in this country will spend around 2% of their income on their electricity bill. This is also £778 less than in the UK, but not only that, those in the Republic of Ireland are also earning around £8,315 more than those in the UK.

Want to learn more about the running costs of electric heating? Take a look at our bitesize video >