Research by the pioneers of personalised, organic period care delivered through your letterbox, Yoppie, has revealed that UK women are better off than most, at least where the cost of their period care is concerned.

Yoppie looked at the average cost of sanitary care per item in 10 nations around the world and what this cost equates to per period. Yoppie then looked at this cost in relation to the average income available to further gauge the affordability of period care products in each country.

The figures show that at 16 pence per product, the average UK woman spends £4.65 on period care per cycle, averaging £55.80 a year. With the average adult earning £34,737 per year, the UK is home to a period care product affordability ratio of 622.

As a result, the UK ranks as the third-best nation where the overall affordability of period care products is concerned, with just the United States (880) and UAE (1061) home to a higher affordability ratio.

India is home to one of the lowest average costs for period care products. At an average of eleven pence per product, women in India spend just £39.60 a year.

However, India also has the lowest average annual earnings of all nations in the list at £6,308, meaning it has a period care product affordability ratio of 159. This makes India the most expensive nation in the list in which to have a period.

In contrast, the annual income in China is £13,794 but the average annual cost of period care is the highest of all nations at £86.40. As a result, China follows closely behind India as one of the most expensive places to have a period with an affordability ratio of 160%.

Japan (336), Brazil (403) and France (513) also rank as some of the least affordable countries to have a period, with Germany (585) and Australia (603) also ranking ahead of the UK.

Founder of Yoppie, Daniella Peri, commented:

“Periods can be stressful and the cost of period care can be just one issue for women around the world. But the cost isn’t the only issue and, in fact, the quality of products, their availability, and even stigma surrounding periods can be more problematic in many countries.

In this respect, we’re actually very lucky in the UK. Period products aren’t the cheapest, but we’ve just seen a huge step forward with the scrapping of the tampon tax.

There are also a wealth of available products, whether it be from our local shop or via online services such as Yoppie, which can help women access period care more easily and conveniently. This is particularly important now as it helps many avoid the potential dangers of Covid by remaining at home either through precautionary choice or due to shielding and isolation guidelines.

The range of products is also far superior to many other countries, with organic products providing an option free of chemicals and plastic waste and we’re also pretty open about the subject of menstruation with little to no stigma remaining about the subject.”