Most expensive fuel in the world
The 169 countries we track, ranked from the highest retail gasoline price. Updated July 2026.
Where fuel is expensive, the pump price usually says more about tax policy than about oil. Hong Kong tops this ranking at $4.167 per liter — 2.8 times the world average of $1.492. Of the 169 countries we track, 81 sit above that average.
Europe dominates the upper half of the table: its regional average of $1.940 per liter is the highest of any region we cover, driven by fuel excise duties that in several countries exceed the pre-tax cost of the fuel itself.
The 10 most expensive countries
Hong Kong
$4.167/L
2
Malawi
$3.237/L
3
Denmark
$2.710/L
4
Netherlands
$2.666/L
5
Israel
$2.526/L
6
Finland
$2.450/L
7
Liechtenstein
$2.429/L
8
Albania
$2.423/L
9
Germany
$2.414/L
10
Switzerland
$2.382/L
Full ranking — 25 most expensive
| # | Country | Per liter | Per gallon | 50 L tank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong |
$4.167 | $15.77 | $208.35 |
| 2 | Malawi |
$3.237 | $12.25 | $161.85 |
| 3 | Denmark |
$2.710 | $10.26 | $135.50 |
| 4 | Netherlands |
$2.666 | $10.09 | $133.30 |
| 5 | Israel |
$2.526 | $9.56 | $126.30 |
| 6 | Finland |
$2.450 | $9.27 | $122.50 |
| 7 | Liechtenstein |
$2.429 | $9.19 | $121.45 |
| 8 | Albania |
$2.423 | $9.17 | $121.15 |
| 9 | Germany |
$2.414 | $9.14 | $120.70 |
| 10 | Switzerland |
$2.382 | $9.02 | $119.10 |
| 11 |  Singapore |
$2.322 | $8.79 | $116.10 |
| 12 |  Portugal |
$2.305 | $8.73 | $115.25 |
| 13 |  France |
$2.301 | $8.71 | $115.05 |
| 14 |  Greece |
$2.297 | $8.70 | $114.85 |
| 15 |  Norway |
$2.291 | $8.67 | $114.55 |
| 16 |  Italy |
$2.269 | $8.59 | $113.45 |
| 17 |  Mayotte |
$2.232 | $8.45 | $111.60 |
| 18 |  Uruguay |
$2.205 | $8.35 | $110.25 |
| 19 |  Wallis and Futuna |
$2.170 | $8.21 | $108.50 |
| 20 |  Belgium |
$2.143 | $8.11 | $107.15 |
| 21 |  Austria |
$2.134 | $8.08 | $106.70 |
| 22 |  Latvia |
$2.079 | $7.87 | $103.95 |
| 23 |  UK |
$2.075 | $7.85 | $103.75 |
| 24 |  Belize |
$2.032 | $7.69 | $101.60 |
| 25 |  Montenegro |
$2.015 | $7.63 | $100.75 |
What this means at the pump
A 50-litre fill costs $203.00 in Hong Kong against $73.81 at the world average — a difference of $129.19 on a single tank. For a driver covering 15,000 km a year at 7 litres per 100 km, that gap compounds to roughly $2,713.08 annually.
Unlike subsidised markets, high-tax markets tend to move gradually: duty changes are announced in budgets and passed through over weeks, so prices drift rather than jump.