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The Price of Gas Around the World
The next time you pull into the station for a fill-up, keep this in mind before you curse the prices: People elsewhere have it a lot worse than we do in America (and we tend to gripe about it the most, it seems!). Take Asia for instance -- Hong Kong averages a whopping $6.30 per gallon, with Seoul, South Korea, not too far behind. Europe also pays well above what we do in America. London, Berlin, Oslo, and Paris are all well above $6 a gallon. On the low end of the spectrum, places in the Middle East like Kuwait City and Tehran, Iran, pay under 79 cents for their gas. Big surprise there!
The lowest, however, is reserved for Caracas, Venezuela. 17 cents per gallon! [via]
Related:
The lowest, however, is reserved for Caracas, Venezuela. 17 cents per gallon! [via]
Related:
Filed under: Asia, Europe, North America
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 15)
kay Jun 27th 2007 7:49PM
Dear ourman,
I am very glad that Bush won. Al Gore is a big fat hipocrit. He has all these pictures that he sends satellites up to space to take, and yet he tells us we need to save gas??? do you have any idea how much gas he wastes launching those satellites up into space so that he can take pictures to show how much gas we're wasting?!?!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! GO BUSH!!!
Mae Jun 27th 2007 6:55PM
Where exactly did you get your gas price info? I can only suspect that if you have the gas price in Chicago so terribly incorrect that all of your statistics are flawed. I bought gas today for $3.25 and that is the lowest price I have seen around here in 6 months. The cheapist I could find it a month ago was $4.00 a gallon! And, yes, gas is more expensive in Europe and parts of the far east, but that is nothing new.
j Jun 27th 2007 7:02PM
One thing to consider, the governments of those countries mentioned, do not subsidize the oil company. Here in the United States, we sudsidize the oil companies billions and billions of dollars each year. So, while some countries look like they are paying more, we are probably paying more than they are. Don't forget that our military right now, is a part of the equation as well...
tymetravler Jun 27th 2007 7:15PM
This article in no way represents the true cost of gas in the countries listed. Iran's gas is government subsidized so it's $.11 per liter. Most European countries pay huge taxes on gasoline but have free health care. This article is nothing but a "red herring"
Bill in NY Jun 28th 2007 4:24PM
Next time, do your research..........Europe pays the same per gallon as us but has high taxes on their gas. At least the money is spent to maintain their roads and keep their cities clean. China and other places you have to keep in mind, the US dollar is very weak so the conversion rate is misleading. The real problem at the center of it all is Exon/Mobile because the mergers have taken the competition out of pricing. If everyone stopped buying from Exon/Mobile the price would drop like a rock in a pond.
p2dog Jun 28th 2007 12:34PM
Its not just the manipulation of supply, its also
the manipulation of taxes. Governments have a very strong incentive to keep the base price of oil high in order to raise revenue via taxes.
Kay Jun 27th 2007 7:25PM
I'm not sure why people are complaining about gas prices. They seem quite reasonable to me. And the new cars are pretty cheap too. Perhaps it is the people with gas-hog SUVs, or the people who don't live where they work and commute more than 50 miles a day that are complaining. But then, they made their own bed.
Jess Jun 27th 2007 7:31PM
$250 a month for healthcare??? I want your healthcare, my husband has awesome insurance and it costs us $80/week, no dental and only vision "discount". If I opt for my insurance plan at work, it would be about $280/WEEK. Yes, per week. I could deal with some universal health and dental. My husband and I both work 50 or more hours per week, and we have only one child and fuel efficient vehicles(one new, one old), and we barely scrape buy. Milk is over $4 a gallon for crying out loud. Remember the good ol' days when only one parent had to work, and that was enough income to buy a house and a new car? America is definitely not all it's cracked up to be.
Chris in Texas Jun 27th 2007 7:34PM
Arrgghhh!!! If I read ONE more of these worthless "gas cost comparisons".....why is it worthless? Because those prices in London or Paris or Berlin or Rome are high because their government taxes the hell out of the motorist, to the tune of 66 to 75 percent in taxes. Take away those obscene & outrageous taxes, then compare it to gas here in the states without our taxes - and guess what? We pay more! Here in Texas, gas is going for around $2.69/gallon. Subtract our $0.48 in taxes, and it becomes $2.21. Now, take the gas in Paris at $6.52/gallon, subtract 66% in taxes (it may be more), and that "overpriced" Parisienne gas is now $2.21 a gallon, the same as here without the taxes! If the tax rate is 75%, it becomes $1.63. NOW who has overpriced gas?
Vicki Jun 27th 2007 7:37PM
OMG, I live in Kansas City, and gas isn't even $2.76 a gallon. I WISH! And $250 a month for insurance? I WISH! I got kicked off my parents insurance because I'm too old, and I can't find a job that gives me health benefits. I pay out of pocket for health insurance, and it's $421 a month! It's ridiculous! I'll take Europe any day over here in this context. Mass transit and national health insurance! The mass transit in Kansas City is a flat out JOKE.
I didn't vote for Bush, so I feel I have a right to bitch about him. He's quite possibly the worst president in history. He's an embarrassment to this country. What he does in NO WAY reflects what most Americans believe in. He doesn't represent the way I feel. Not even a little bit.
Most Americans don't drive Hummers. SUVs are owned by a lot of Americans, but I can't even say MOST Americans drive SUVs either. I couldn't even afford the gas to drive a Hummer, let alone the $80,000 price tag. If you think most Americans can afford an $80,000 vehicle, you need to come spend some more time here.
Ourman needs to come visit the poor people living in every big city in the inner city to see how a lot of people really live. It would probably shock him. There are lots of people living with cockroaches crawling around their homes in plain sight. Just a couple months ago, there was a newborn baby here in KC that got it's nose a lips literally chewed off by a rat in the house while it layed in it's crib. Things like this are not as unusual as you would think.
But we all drive $80,000 Hummers and money apparently grows on trees here in the US. We have nothing to complain about even though many people in the inner cities can't even afford pest control, most Americans do not have health insurance, and many of us are struggling to pay for gas. Whatever...
Jessica Jun 27th 2007 7:38PM
Oh, and if I lived where I worked I would be paying about 5 times the rent I pay, so I save money not living there, and if I worked where I lived I would make minimum wage, which is set below a livable wage according to our stupid government, but yet they don't change it.
Jane Jun 27th 2007 7:47PM
The oil companies are making a huge profit everywhere! President Bush is doing nothing to help us and until we wait out the idiot's term and/or find another way to fuel our transportation, we are STUCK! I'm very surprised with all of the intelligent minds all over the World that nobody has come up with a reliable gas alternative. Also, the prices on the map are totally off. Gas here in Massachusetts is $2.99 and New York is ALWAYS more. I guess we need more of those intelligent minds doing research as well!
Kay Jun 27th 2007 7:48PM
I would just like to stick up for the SUV driving Americans. SUV's arent as bad as everyone may think. I mean they arent green loving tree huggin vehicles - but mine gets 32 highway - if you drive around 60mph. consistantly. And if you think that number is too low - well thats ok I am willing to buy more gas - for what I like.
Vicki Jun 27th 2007 7:57PM
We've already had a reliable alternative to gasoline? Ever been to California? They have those electric car recharging stations everywhere. They're still standing. In 1996, GM released a car called the EV1. I bet you've never heard of it though. I hadn't either until I rented "Who Killed The Electric Car?" You should check it out.
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/
It was a reliable alternative to gasoline. They were very popular there and there were ridiculous waiting lists for these cars. Then the cars just disappeared. The few people that actually had one had to return it to GM, and the cars were scrapped. Rent this documentary and then ask yourself if we don't really have an alternative to fuel. We do, but as long as we have a oil backed president in office, we will never have an electric car.
MIKE Jun 27th 2007 7:59PM
FIGURES LIE AND LIARS FIGURE .
OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ALTERNATE FUELS . LIKE FUEL
MADE FROM PROCCESSING SUGAR BEETS . THAT FUEL COST
1/3 AS MUCH AS GASOLINE . IF YOU'RE GOING TO TELL
A STORY - TELL THE WHOLE STORY .
Vicki Jun 27th 2007 8:00PM
Oil companies are making record profits with record prices. I'm not making a record salary every year to compete with that.
Melissa Jun 27th 2007 8:10PM
uh in the chicago area it's still over $3.00 a gallon... has been for a couple months.... it got up to about $3.65 in my area before it started goind down now its at $3.06. unless you go to wisconsin then its $2.95... the info in this article is severly outdated. haven't seen $2.69 since sometime last year... nice try to the author though, but you need to check your facts fefore you publish..
MikeyAnthony Jun 27th 2007 8:13PM
I currently reside in Chicago and the lowest gas price you can find currently, as of today, is 3.27 for regular gas, not mid or high. The price normally hovers around 3.40, almost a dollar more then the stated chicago price indicates. Its funny how we all hate Hugo Sanchez much because he dislikes our guy who is currently in charge, yet he gives his people gas for pennies, how we wish our lil' Bush could do the same for us. Oh well Nov 4th is around the corner. It'll be the one of the biggest voter turn outs in the history of our country. They might have chaded a few votes away from us in florida two elections ago, but I can't see that happening in this coming election, with the majority voting for us getting out of the war, and for us to reestablish oursleves as a respectable nation. As for health-care, given the current state that it's in, I can't see that changing anytime soon in my lifetime.(24yrold)
Vicki Jun 27th 2007 8:14PM
We've already had a reliable gas alternative. Ever been to California? In 1996 GM released a car in California called an EV1 (EV obviously stands for Electric Vehicle). They were widely popular, and the waiting lists for these cars were ridiculous. They were expensive at the time, so a few people like celebrities were driving them. But as everyone knows, when you have something so expensive, the more widely used they become the faster the price drops (ie. computers). Well, before ANYBODY on any of these waiting lists ever got theirs, the cars disappeared. Where did they go? To the junkyard. For no obvious reason. People protested their destruction. These cars were towed out of the driveways of the people that drove them. They no longer exist. That's the reason there are those electric car stations all over California. I had never noticed one until after I saw the documentary "Who Killed The Electric Car?"
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/
Visit that website for more information on these cars. These cars could have been the transition that we needed to get to the electric car that we needed.
MIKE Jun 27th 2007 8:22PM
WHAT A PLEASURE THIS HAS BEEN TO READ SOME INTELLIGENT COMMENTS FOR A CHANGE . THANKS .
I REALLY ENJOYED READING THEM .