Bulgaria reports the largest annual increase in fuel prices in the European Union. In September 2026, the prices of fuels and lubricants for personal transport in our country increased by 42.2% compared to the same month last year, according to Eurostat data.
Our country is ahead of all other member states in this indicator. Bulgaria is followed by Estonia with a growth of 40.6% and Lithuania with 40.2%.
The average price increase in the EU reaches 31.4% on an annual basis, with the trend towards accelerating price growth. In July, the increase was 16.9%, and in August – 23.8%
In September, the annual price increase was higher compared to the previous two months in 26 EU countries.
A total of 15 countries reported an increase of more than 30%. In addition to Bulgaria, Estonia and Lithuania, there are 12 other countries among them, with the increase ranging from 37.5% in the Czech Republic to 30.3% in Portugal.
The lowest increase was registered in Hungary - 6.9%, followed by Ireland with 17.7% and Sweden with 19.9%.
Eurostat data show that in just one month - between August and September 2026, diesel prices in the EU increased by an average of 5.9%, and petrol - by 6.7%.
For comparison, in August diesel prices increased by 8.3% compared to July, and gasoline - by 3.3%.
A rise in diesel prices in September was reported in 26 EU countries. The highest monthly growth was in Sweden (12.8%), Latvia (10.3%) and Poland (9.7%). The smallest increase was in Spain (2.4%), Croatia (2.5%) and Romania (3%).
Gasoline prices also increased in 26 countries. The most significant price increase was registered in Sweden (13.8%), Poland (9.7%) and Estonia (9.5%).
The increase was the lowest in Cyprus (3.8%), Romania (4.2%) and Slovenia (4.6%).
The data place Bulgaria at the top of the European ranking in terms of annual fuel price growth, given that the price increase in our country exceeds the EU average by 10.8 percentage points.