Most Expensive and Cheapest Gas Prices around the World

gas prices
Gas Prices

Most Expensive and Cheapest Gas Prices around the World

Argh, Gas Prices! Even though gas prices have come down over the past few weeks, let's be honest… it is still “Pain at the Pump” for most drivers out on the road.

High gas prices causes us to do crazy things. Such as carpooling to work with that guy you hate, drinking less with friends, and not buying frivolous items over the Internet. You also generally plan your car trips more carefully. Does the price of gas justify you going to the mall today?

We Americans complain about how bad gas prices are here, but my automotive colleagues in European countries such as the UK feel the pain all the time. I want you to think of how large a quart is for a second. Across the Atlantic they pay for fuel by the liter, which is about the same size as a quart. The average price for a liter of fuel is $2.16 and you need four liters roughly to make a gallon. That means it would cost on average around $8.64 a gallon in the UK… ouch!

The current average price for a gallon of gas in the US, according to the US Energy Information Administration, is $3.56. Don't you love America? 🙂

The simple reality though is that most of us have to drive and use our cars, no matter the price of gas here or in Europe. We are slaves to those posted prices at gas stations. The only way around this would be if you owned a refinery (of course if you owned a refinery you probably are not reading this and if you are, thank you!)

Even though I feel for the British, because they need to pay some ridiculously high gas prices, in some countries it could be worse. While gas prices are crazy high, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) over in the UK is relatively high. According to the World Bank's data it is roughly $35,600 per capita in the UK. That means while yes gas is expensive, incomes somewhat match the high fuel prices.

Where might getting gas be even more painful? If you lived in the African country of Eritrea (Yes, this was a Wikipedia lookup) where GDP is roughly $700 per year, filling your tank would eat-up a huge amount of your income. How much? Roughly 12.12% of an average Eritrean's budget would go to a 10 gallon tank costing on average $84.90 in US dollars. Compared to the UK where it would only be a paltry 0.24% of GDP per year at $94.27 for that same 10 gallon tank, prices don't seem quite as bad.

This lead me to determine that Eritrea is “The Most Expensive Country to Buy Fuel.” While Norway ranks the top of the list according to most rankings, Norwegians also have a very high GDP ($53,300) putting them 5th on my list.

Where would it be least expensive to get gas in the world? According to the British Insurance Agency Staveley Head Venezuela has the cheapest fuel prices in the world. A gallon of gas would cost you on average a paltry 18 cents, meaning 10 gallons would be $1.80. That same amount of money would not even buy half a gallon in the US. In the UK it would not be enough to even move your car 300 feet!

Moral of the story, you better learn some Spanish and move to Venezuela if you want to buy some cheap gas. I can only imagine all the fun Venezuelans have in their cars when they don't need to worry about gas prices. Unfortunately, in most of the world we do.

Countries with the Most Expensive Gas Prices

1. Eritrea – $700 – $84.90 – 12.12%
2. Greece – $27,600 – $87.60 – 0.31%
3. Italy – $30,100 – $88 – 0.29%
4. Britain – $35,600 – $94.27 – 0.24%
5. Norway – $53,300 – $99.04 – 0.18%

Countries with the Cheapest Gas Prices

1. Venezuela $10,700 (GDP) – $1.80 (10 gallons)  – 0.01% of annual GDP
2. Bahrain $27,300 – $7.80 – 0.02 %
3. Libya – $14,100 – $5.40 – 0.03%
4. Saudi Arabia – $17,200 – $8.00 – 0.04%
5. Turkmenistan – $6,900 – $7.20 – 0.10% or
6. Qatar – $93,700 – $11.31 – 0.10%

Remember this list according to GDP and gas prices, so it is different than other gas price lists you might see.

What do you think about my gas price list?  Think my math is whack?  Want to tell me what you think?  Please leave a comment below and let me know!