Leer en Español
Apple unveiled last week the iPhone 14 Pro, one of the high-end phones of its new line that will be on pre-sale in the United States in the coming days and will cost 999 dollars.
In this regard, Bloomberg Online compared the minimum wages of Latin American countries and the equivalent of how many months of work the citizens of each country would need to afford the iPhone 14 Pro. Venezuela is the nation where more minimum wages are required to reach the amount.
The amount of minimum wages required in Latin American countries to buy an iPhone 14 | Bloomberg Online Data
According to Bloomberg Online’s analysis, Venezuelans would require the equivalent of 33 minimum wages to buy Apple’s new phone. However, in reality, the amount is significantly higher, almost twice as much, since the portal comparison was made on the basis that the Venezuelan minimum wage is 30 dollars.
Yet, the minimum wage in Venezuela has been 130 bolivars since March. At that date, in effect, that amount was equivalent to 30 dollars. Nevertheless, in view of the devaluation that has taken place since then, the minimum wage is currently equivalent to only 16.31 dollars, when calculated this September 12 using as a reference the official rate of the BCV, which closed the day at 7.97 bolivars.
BCV exchange rate at the close of September 12, 2022.
Therefore, 61.25 minimum wages would be required for a Venezuelan to be able to buy the iPhone 14 Pro. That is the equivalent of more than five years of work for those earning the minimum (five years, one month, and one week of work). And that is assuming that the exchange rate stops devaluing.
Furthermore, if the exchange rate in the official market is considered as a reference, even more was required, since the average price of the dollar closed this Monday at 8.14 bolivars. Therefore, the minimum wage is equivalent to 15.97 dollars in that market.
Based on these calculations, it would take 62.55 minimum wages to pay the $999 cost of the iPhone 14 Pro. In this case it would be five years and two and a half months of work.
This article is part of an agreement between El American and El Nacional.
