Britain pays the highest energy price of 33 economies — $42 per MMBtu, more than three times Saudi Arabia's
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Wednesday, October 14, 2026 — Britain pays about $42 per MMBtu for energy, the highest price of the 33 economies tracked in the Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review from Intratec Solutions, and more than three times what Saudi Arabia pays at $12.1.
Energy is what pulls the United Kingdom down to 32nd of 33 overall, two places lower than a year earlier. Only Sweden ranks below it. The average energy price across the 33 economies is $24.0 per MMBtu.
The review scores 33 countries, together more than 80% of global manufacturing output, as places to make the industrial commodities the modern economy runs on, plastics, fertilizers and industrial metals among them. Each receives a 0–100 Country Score built from 14 pillars — costs any plant faces, such as wages, energy and taxes, plus advantages specific to each of seven industries. Every country is measured on the same basis, by the same rules, on full-year 2025 averages.
Across the four cost spreads the review draws for all 33, the dear ends scatter across Europe: Britain on energy, Belgium on wages, Sweden on plant builds and France on payroll.
The rest of the British cost sheet is ordinary. Manufacturing labor costs $40.4 an hour, more than Canada's $38.7 but well below Germany's $55.0. Payroll charges are light at 14% of wages, and a new plant costs 1.10 times the US price. The country ranks 11th of 33 for taxes at home, 12th for freight costs and 15th for logistics and infrastructure. None of that fixes a weak industrial base: industrial production and processing margins both rank 27th of 33.
“At $42 per MMBtu, Britain pays the most for industrial energy of the 33 countries we track — nearly three and a half times what Saudi Arabia pays. It has not left the bottom three on energy in a decade, and prices never came back down after the 2022 spike.”
— Alexandre Carvalho, Analyst, Industry Economics & Competitiveness
Europe fields 13 of the 33 countries, and none reaches the top ten. Sweden, at 33rd, trails on cost; Norway, at 31st, on a thin industry; the United Kingdom, at 32nd, on both.
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review covers all 33 countries with the full ranking. The ranking is free to read and the methodology is open; everything in the report may be quoted, charted or republished with attribution.
About Intratec Solutions
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