Pricele #42: Gasoline (1 litre) in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
The puzzle for 11 August 2026 asked what one litre of gasoline costs in Saudi Arabia. Here is the answer and the context behind it.
The answer
Gasoline (1 litre) · Saudi Arabia
$0.62
2.33 SAR
About 3 minutes of the average local wage buys one.
Cheaper than 97% of the 32 countries in the game.
Source: Numbeo (crowd-sourced), retrieved 2026-08.
About gasoline
Crude oil trades on a world market at one price, so the pump price is almost pure policy. Countries that tax fuel heavily land near the top of the table; oil producers that subsidise it land at the bottom, sometimes below what it costs to refine. The spread between the cheapest and most expensive country here is wider than for any other item in the game.
Where Saudi Arabia sits
Of the 32 countries priced for gasoline, Saudi Arabia ranks #31 from the top at $0.62 — 55% below the median of $1.38.
Saudi Arabia has some of the cheapest fuel in the game — domestic petrol is priced well below world markets, though the kingdom has raised it repeatedly since 2016 as part of budget reform. Food is largely imported and priced closer to global levels. VAT was introduced in 2018 and tripled to 15% in 2020, with no reduced rate for food, so Saudi groceries now carry a heavier tax load than groceries in most of Europe. The kingdom is a useful reminder that a country can subsidise one item heavily and tax the rest at a high flat rate at the same time.
| Nearby on the gasoline table | USD | Local | Work time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | $0.43 | 21.98 EGP | 14 min |
| Saudi Arabia | $0.62 | 2.33 SAR | 3 min |
| Indonesia | $0.74 | 13,348 IDR | 20 min |
| Vietnam | $0.86 | 22,524 VND | 18 min |
What else costs what in Saudi Arabia
| Item | USD | Local | Work time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Mac | $5.07 | 19 SAR | 25 min |
| Coca-Cola (330ml can) | $0.80 | 3 SAR | 4 min |
| Cappuccino | $3.70 | 13.88 SAR | 19 min |
| Milk (1 litre) | $1.71 | 6.41 SAR | 9 min |
| Eggs (dozen) | $2.57 | 9.64 SAR | 13 min |
| Apples (1 kg) | $2.22 | 8.33 SAR | 11 min |
Go deeper
See the full table for gasoline in every country or everything priced in Saudi Arabia.