Fuel Prices in Malta: What You Pay at the Pump and Why
Drivers in Malta currently pay about $1.525 per liter for gasoline, which works out to roughly $5.77 per US gallon. In local terms that is around €1.34 per liter. Diesel is a little cheaper at about $1.377 per liter. Those figures put Malta almost exactly in the middle of the global table — it ranks 90th out of 170 countries surveyed, and its gasoline price sits just above the world average of about $1.484 per liter.
Why Maltese pump prices look the way they do
Malta is a small island nation with no domestic oil or gas production, so every drop of fuel it burns is imported and shipped in. You might expect that to translate into volatile, sky-high prices. Instead, Malta has long been one of the most price-stable fuel markets in Europe — and that is no accident.
The key factor is government intervention. For years the state-owned importer and the regulator have effectively fixed or smoothed retail fuel prices, shielding consumers from the wild swings seen on international crude markets. During the 2022 energy crisis, when prices across the EU spiked sharply, Malta held its pump prices steady through subsidies and forward purchasing — an unusual move that kept Maltese diesel and petrol among the cheapest in the eurozone at the time. This stabilization policy is the single biggest reason local prices feel predictable.
Excise duties and VAT still make up a meaningful chunk of the final price, as they do everywhere in the EU. But because Malta caps and manages the retail level, the tax component is less visible to drivers than the headline volatility that countries with free pricing experience. The euro also plays a role: since fuel is bought in US dollars on the world market, a stronger euro lowers the effective import cost, while a weaker euro raises it. With prices quoted to motorists in euros, that exchange-rate buffer is largely absorbed by the state rather than passed straight through.
The trend over the last decade
Malta's price history makes the stability story concrete. Between July 2016 and June 2026 the average gasoline price was about $1.526 per liter — essentially identical to today's $1.525. The lowest point on record was $1.446 in October 2016, and the highest was $1.606 in August 2019. That is a peak-to-trough spread of only about 11%, remarkably narrow for a ten-year window that included a pandemic and a major European energy shock. Most countries saw far larger swings over the same period.
The practical takeaway: Maltese drivers have paid roughly the same in real terms for a decade, and there is little sign of a sharp upward trend. The current price is right on the long-run average rather than at an extreme.
How Malta compares
Sitting near the global midpoint, Malta is pricier than oil exporters and heavily subsidized markets but cheaper than the high-tax economies of Northern Europe. For context, you can see how its number stacks up against an oil-producing African nation like Ivory Coast, a North African importer such as Morocco, a high-income Asian market like South Korea, or a small island economy comparable to Malta in structure, Aruba. For the full picture, browse our complete table of world fuel prices.
FAQ
How much does gas cost in Malta?
Gasoline in Malta costs about $1.525 per liter, or roughly $5.77 per US gallon. In local currency that is around €1.34 per liter. Diesel is cheaper at about $1.377 per liter.
Why are fuel prices in Malta so stable?
Malta imports all of its fuel but the government manages and smooths retail prices through a state importer, subsidies and forward buying. This shielded drivers from the 2022 energy spike and kept the ten-year price range to just $1.446–$1.606 per liter.
Is fuel cheap or expensive in Malta compared with other countries?
Malta ranks 90th out of 170 countries, putting it near the global midpoint. Its price of $1.525 per liter is slightly above the world average of $1.484, so it is mid-priced — cheaper than Northern Europe but dearer than oil exporters.