World's most expensive pints of beer pinpointed - with UK languishing in top 20

27 November 2023 , 20:47

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Beer prices vary depending on where you live in the UK (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A pint of beer is perhaps one of the most consumed drinks in the country - certainly in a pub at least.

And depending on where you live, the prices can vary quite dramatically for a refreshing cold one. But wherever you are, the UK as a whole has found itself at the top end of the countries serving the most expensive pints in the entire world.

The research was compiled by Finder and discovered that both the UK and US sit inside the top 15. Yet, despite laying down strict regulations on drinking alcohol, Middle East countries make up the top three.

A pint of beer in the city of Doha in Qatar will set you back an average £10.47 and is top of the list as the priciest place on Earth to drink one. A beer then costs £9.93 and £8.68 in Dubai, UAE and Muscat, Oman respectively.

While the costliest city in Europe is Reykjavik in Iceland at £7.81. Other Nordic countries are also fairly expensive, with Oslo in Norway costing £7.13 and Helsinki in Finland averaging at £6.33 a pint.

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A beer in New York cost £6.22, placing the US at number nine overall. Slightly further down it comes as no surprise that London is the most expensive city in the UK to buy a pint. The average cost in the capital is £5.90, putting us at number 14 out of all 166 countries looked at. But despite being just under £6, London still charges more than double the world average of £2.60.

Top 20 world cities with most expensive beer

1. Doha, Qatar £10.47
2. Dubai, United Arab Emirates £9.93
3. Muscat, Oman £8.68
4. Reykjavik, Iceland £7.81
5. Beirut, Lebanon £7.51
6. Oslo, Norway - £7.13
7. Zurich, Switzerland - £6.54
8. Helsinki - £6.33
9. New York, US - £6.22
10. Manama, Bahrain - £6.20
11. Copenhagen, Denmark - £6.06
12. Jerusalem, Israel - £6
13. Singapore, Singapore - £5.98
14. London, UK £5.90
15. Paris, Franc - £5.86
16. Amman, Jordan - £5.83
17. Auckland, New Zealand - £5.76
18. Victoria, Seychelles - £5.56
19. Dublin, Ireland - £5.51
20. Stockholm, Sweden - £5.38

In fact, the cost of a pint of beer in 2023 ranges from 46p in Bujumbura in Burundi all the way up to more than £10 in Qatar. This is a slight decrease from last year’s prices, which spanned from 67p in Uzbekistan to £11.37 in Qatar.

While the overall world average is down just over 4% from last year’s world average of £2.72, it is still up 8.5% on the 2021 world average of £2.40. The research also revealed that the average cost of a pint across the UK this year is £4.21 - an increase of 1.6% from £4.15 in 2022 and just over 8% in 2021 at £3.89.

It also found that the country's cheapest pint on average, out of 46 analysed, was in Derby at just £3.00 - £1.21 less than the UK average of £4.21. The next cheapest cities are Kingston Upon Hull and Aberdeen at £3.32 and £3.43 respectively. While York (£5.10) and Belfast (£5.08) were the second and third most expensive cities to buy a pint.

Top 20 UK cities with most expensive beer

1. London - £5.90
2. York - £5.10
3. Belfast - £5.08
4. Edinburgh - £5.05
5. Brighton and Hove - £5.02
6. Milton Keynes - £4.82
7. Bristol - £4.77
8. Oxford - £4.75
9. Cambridge - £4.69
10. Manchester - £6.69
11. Aberystwyth - £4.65
12. Norwich - £4.61
13. Portsmouth - £4.49
14. Exeter - £4.48
15. Leicester - £4.41
16. Liverpool - £.4.34
17. Southampton - £4.34
18. Nottingham - £4.25
19. Gloucester - £4.22

Steven White