Global fuel price index
How far £50 of petrol or diesel takes you in 29 countries, from the latest official pump prices.
How far does £50 of fuel take you? It depends on where you fill up. We compared the latest official pump prices in 29 countries: the UK, all 27 EU countries and the US.
In the week of 12 October 2026, £50 of petrol took you about 282 miles in the UK, in a car that does 45mpg. In the US it took you twice as far, 574 miles. In Denmark, the most expensive country for petrol, it took you 221 miles.
The index
Change the budget, fuel or miles per gallon and the table updates.
£50 of petrol takes you about 282 miles in the United Kingdom. It goes furthest in the United States (574 miles) and least far in Denmark (221 miles).
| 1 | United States | £0.86 | 58.0 | 574 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Malta | £1.13 | 44.2 | 438 |
| 3 | Poland | £1.33 | 37.7 | 374 |
| 4 | Bulgaria | £1.39 | 35.9 | 356 |
| 5 | Sweden | £1.43 | 35.0 | 347 |
| 6 | Hungary | £1.48 | 33.8 | 334 |
| 7 | Cyprus | £1.49 | 33.7 | 333 |
| 8 | Slovenia | £1.49 | 33.6 | 333 |
| 9 | Spain | £1.51 | 33.1 | 328 |
| 10 | Croatia | £1.52 | 32.9 | 325 |
| 11 | Slovakia | £1.56 | 32.1 | 318 |
| 12 | Czechia | £1.57 | 31.9 | 315 |
| 13 | Austria | £1.57 | 31.8 | 314 |
| 14 | Luxembourg | £1.58 | 31.6 | 313 |
| 15 | Romania | £1.60 | 31.2 | 309 |
| 16 | Estonia | £1.62 | 30.9 | 306 |
| 17 | Lithuania | £1.62 | 30.8 | 305 |
| 18 | Latvia | £1.64 | 30.5 | 302 |
| 19 | Belgium | £1.67 | 30.0 | 297 |
| 20 | Ireland | £1.67 | 29.9 | 296 |
| 21 | Italy | £1.71 | 29.3 | 290 |
| 22 | United Kingdom | £1.75 | 28.5 | 282 |
| 23 | Portugal | £1.78 | 28.1 | 278 |
| 24 | Greece | £1.86 | 26.9 | 267 |
| 25 | France | £1.87 | 26.8 | 265 |
| 26 | Germany | £1.87 | 26.8 | 265 |
| 27 | Finland | £1.96 | 25.5 | 253 |
| 28 | Netherlands | £2.08 | 24.1 | 238 |
| 29 | Denmark | £2.24 | 22.3 | 221 |
Prices as at 12 October 2026. Pump prices including taxes, converted to pounds at the European Central Bank's reference rates for 14 October 2026 (£0.84385 and $1.1195 to the euro). Miles are worked out in UK gallons of 4.546 litres, the gallon UK mpg figures use. The sources are listed further down the page.
Why fuel costs more in some countries
Oil is priced the same way everywhere. What you pay at the pump isn’t.
How much of the price is tax?
In the UK, fuel duty is about 53p a litre and VAT is 20% on top. At £1.75 a litre of petrol, that’s about 82p in tax, so almost half of what you pay.
Duty and VAT rates are set by each government, and they explain most of the gap between countries in the index. Where tax is low, as in the US, fuel costs far less.
Why is diesel dearer than petrol in the UK?
In the week of 12 October 2026, a litre of diesel cost £2.00 in the UK against £1.75 for petrol. Both pay the same duty, so the gap comes from the price of diesel itself and the VAT charged on it.
It isn’t the same everywhere. In Malta, Greece and Denmark, diesel was cheaper than petrol that week. Switch the index to diesel to compare.
Do exchange rates change the ranking?
Yes. Every price is converted to pounds, so when the pound weakens against the euro or the dollar, fuel abroad costs more in pounds even if pump prices haven’t moved. The index uses the European Central Bank’s reference rates for the same week as the prices.
How we work it out
We divide your budget by the price of a litre to get the litres you can buy. Then we turn litres into UK gallons (4.546 litres each) and multiply by your car’s miles per gallon. We use UK gallons because that’s the gallon UK mpg figures are quoted in. A US gallon is smaller, at 3.785 litres, so US prices are converted to litres first.
The default is 45mpg. Your car’s own figure is in its handbook or on its trip computer. Driving style, traffic and the weather all change it.
We update the index from the same official sources. Prices here are for the week of 12 October 2026.
Sources
- EU pump prices: European Commission, Weekly Oil Bulletin
- UK pump prices: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, weekly road fuel prices
- US pump prices: US Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
- Exchange rates: European Central Bank, euro foreign exchange reference rates
- UK fuel duty: HM Revenue and Customs, excise duty rates for hydrocarbon oils
Driving abroad?
Read taking your car abroad before you go, and check the GOV.UK guidance on driving in the country you’re visiting.
