Britain's motorists have much to grumble about presently, with fuel prices at their highest for four years and a potential hike in fuel duty looming.

However, even an average unleaded price of 131p a litre isn't enough to land Britain a place in the top 10 list of countries with the highest costs.

This is Money's latest petrol price index has found that Britain is placed 20th, behind European countries such as Denmark, Greece, Norway, Liechtenstein and San Marino.

Petrol prices in Britain are at their highest for four years, but still not high enough for our top 10

The index is compiled using data from Bloomberg and GlobalPetrolPrices.com.

Hong Kong tops this year's list, with petrol costing an average eye-popping 165p a litre, a price which has jumped 31p since the last time this list was compiled in 2015.

It comes ahead of two Nordic nations, Iceland and Norway, already well-known for their expensive cost of living.

Norway's unleaded price has risen by 5p in three years, but the steep rises in the petrol prices of the two ahead of it means it falls to third place.

In the 2015 index, it came in at number one with the world's highest pump prices.

The Caribbean island of Barbados is perhaps the most surprising entry in the list, coming in at number five with more expensive petrol prices than European nations Denmark, Greece and Italy.

Data shows that Hong Kong has the world's highest pump prices, ahead of Iceland and Norway

Prices have largely jumped worldwide due to rising oil prices.

In the 2015 index, the price of Brent Crude, the international benchmark, stood at at $66 a barrel. Today it's $79.

Despite Hong Kong having the most expensive petrol, the percentage of wages spent filling up there is lower than some of the countries on the list, because the average disposable income is higher, as the table below reveals:

Monthly cost impact of filling up Country Petrol Price (p/l) Monthly Disposable Income (£) Monthly Fuel Bill (£) Wages Spent (%) Hong Kong 165 1,876.38 143.70 7.6 Iceland 160 2,461.90 139.34 5.6 Norway 157 2,607.84 136.73 5 Netherlands 149 1,977.88 129.76 6.5 Barbados 149 1,054.66 129.76 12 Greece 148 616 128.9 20.9 Italy 146 1,299.17 127 9.8 Monaco 146 3,821.68 127 3.3 Denmark 145 2,282.94 126 5 Israel 144 1,740 125 7 Methodology: Monthly petrol costs are calculated are based on an individual owning a car that does 55.2 MPG, driving 12,000 miles a year Sources: Bloomberg/GlobalPetrolPrices.com/numbeo.com/Which?

The data, based on driving a car 12,000 miles a year with 55.2 miles per gallon, shows the average driver in Hong Kong spends £143.70 on petrol a month, or just under eight per cent of their wage.

Average wages are based on data from information website Numbeo.

Despite having among the highest petrol prices, the Nordic nations of Iceland, Norway and Denmark spend comparatively less, around five per cent, of their disposable income filling up because of higher monthly wages.

Worldwide petrol index: How it compares to previous years The 2018 index is our fourth annual list tracking worldwide petrol prices. Britain re-entered the list in 2015 at number seven with prices of 121p a litre, after falling out in 2013. It also placed seventh in 2012, when prices were 142p a litre. There are a couple of newcomers in 2018 in the form of second-placed Iceland, Monaco and more surprisingly, Barbados, which came in at number five. The other seven nations all return from the last entry in 2015, with Hong Kong and Norway swapping spots.

All three have an average monthly disposable income of more than £2,200.

Greek motorists appear to be the hardest-hit.

While it has the sixth-highest average pump price in the index, much lower monthly incomes of just over £600 means they spend over a fifth of that just on refuelling.

Drivers in the principality of Monaco spend the lowest percentage of their income on fuel in the top 10 list - just over three per cent - as a petrol price of 146p a litre is offset by average monthly wages of nearly £4,000.

As a point of comparison, motorists in the UK can expect to spend £114 a month at the pumps, spending six per cent of their take home pay on petrol.

Our research shows it is 20th in the global list overall for unleaded prices.

It is worth pointing out that the average motorist in Britain, however, is likely to drive more miles than those living in Hong Kong for example, given how small it is - while car ownership will be far lower as a percentage of the population.

In Britain, currently the most expensive part of the price of both unleaded and diesel is fuel duty, which is 57.95p per litre. It is believed that this could rise in the next budget.

VAT makes up another 22p slice, with the product costing roughly 48p and the retailer typically taking a 5p a litre cut.

How fuel prices are made up: A large chunk is fuel duty and VAT, as seen in this graphic based on petrol costing 132.9p per litre and diesel at 137.9

As well as rising global oil prices, Iceland's second-place in this list may also be down to tax hikes that went through at the end of 2017.

Fuel in Iceland, like Norway, is subject to both a petrol tax and a carbon tax, while VAT on fuel is 11 per cent.

Both of these specific taxes went up at the start of this year, with Iceland's petrol tax increasing by two per cent and its carbon tax doubling.

This accounts for a rise of about 10p per litre, and is part of the government's bid to reduce its carbon emissions.