Revealed: The cost of having a period around the world (and the one country where sanitary products are FREE)

The cost of having a period around the world varies widely, ranging from zero dollars for some women in Europe and creeping into the thousands for others in Asia. 

An analysis by Healthnews looked at the price of the most common menstruation product people use - a pad - and found wide discrepancies among more than two dozen countries. 

The cost of having a period is highest in the United Arab Emirates, where women will pay 23 cents (£0.83) per pad and $68 (£53) per year, totaling $2,668 (£2,087) over a lifetime. 

Women pay the least for period hygiene products in Germany and Finland, where a single pad costs $0.04 (£0.03), totaling $12.57 (£9.75) per year and $490 (£383) over a lifetime.

The researchers said, however, that lower costing products do not necessarily mean better accessibility because incomes vary greatly across countries, meaning some people may be paying less for pads, but it could represent a higher proportion of their income. 

Periods, on average, begin at 12 years old and continue until a woman reaches menopause at an average age of 51, getting a period roughly once per month - or 468 times during her life. 

The analysis said women use an average of 11,400 pads over their menstruation lifespan. 

To calculate costs, researchers looked at the lowest pad price in 30 countries and converted it to US dollars. They then multiplied that price by 11,400.

Following the UAE, the United States came in second for most expensive: $0.15 (£0.12) per pad, $44 (£34) per year and $1,710 (£915) over the lifespan of menstruation. 

The third most expensive country was Australia, costing $0.18 (£14) per pad, $40 (£31) per year and $1,561 (£1,221) over a lifetime. 

Fourth was Sweden and fifth was Canada. 

Following Germany and Finland, Japan and Poland were the least expensive countries for women with their periods, costing $0.06 (£0.05) per pad, $17 (£13) per year and $661 (£517) over a lifetime. 

The United Kingdom had the third lowest costs, with a price tag of $0.63 (£0.49) per product, $18.42 (£14.41) annually and $718 (£562) throughout a woman's life. 

For the purposes of the study, researchers included England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as Scotland has offered free sanitary products since 2022. 

Spain, Denmark, France and Austria all had the fourth most inexpensive price and Mexico completed the five cheapest places for a woman to have her period. 

Whatever a pad's price, based on the average yearly income in a country, the products may represent a larger share of someone's salary, which could impact how accessible they are. 

In Germany and Finland, which have the least expensive sanitary products, pads were 'extremely accessible,' researchers said, in relation to the average annual salary. 

The average yearly income in Germany is $53,675 (£41,980) - meaning over a year, pads make up 0.91 percent of a person's salary. In Finland, where the average annual pay is $52,000 (£40,670), pads make up 0.94 percent. 

Whereas in the UAE, despite the higher average income - $64,080 (£50,117) per year - because menstrual products were nearly five times more expensive, they cost more in proportion to the amount of money people bring home per year, making up 4.2 percent of yearly income. 

When examining the prices of pads, consumers must take into account additional taxes levied on the products, the analysis said. In the US, a tax placed on female-centered products is called the 'pink tax' or 'tampon tax.'

These products are taxed at higher rates than other everyday goods but the same added costs are not applied to male-centered products such as condoms and erectile dysfunction medications.

In the US, 23 states and Washington, DC have banned taxes on menstrual items and an additional 12 states are considering legislation to do the same. 

Opponents of the tampon tax argue the products are necessities and should not be taxed. They say the extra cost puts an unnecessary additional burden on people who need pads or tampons when they menstruate. 

Across the globe, countries like the UK, Canada, Ireland, France, Spain and the Netherlands do not impose a tampon tax on feminine hygiene products. 

However, in Hungary, Denmark and Sweden, the tax is among the highest and ranges from 25 to 27 percent. 

Scotland is the only country in the world that provides menstruation products to its citizens for free, passing legislation to do so in 2020 and enacting the law in 2022.