Gas costs in the U.S. are climbing, with the average price as of early May sitting right around $2.99 according to Bloomberg. But before Americans get too sour, let’s compare U.S. fuel prices against those found elsewhere in the world.
Bloomberg just recently ran a study in which it compared fuel prices between 61 countries based on three metrics: price per gallon in dollars, how the fuel price compares to a day’s wage in each country, and how much citizens of each country actually spend on fuel annually as a percentage of their total income.
You can see the results in graphic form via Bloomberg, who used data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com to determine 95-octane fuel pricing around the world. The results reveal that, in the first quarter of 2018, the U.S. is ranked 12th lowest when it comes to gasoline pricing, with countries including Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and Venezuela offering a gallon of gas for significantly less than $2.99.
But when Bloomberg factored in the average income of people in each country by using GDP per capita in local currency and translating into dollars, the U.S. jumped to fourth place. This drop in position is due to the fact that the U.S.’s $170.28 “average daily income” handily beats that of any other country with lower fuel prices.
The final measurement, “income spent,” drops the U.S. down to 52nd place, with Bloomberg saying the average driver uses 429.19 gallons of gas each year, spending over 2 percent of that person’s annual salary. The news site says it used “UN data for motor gasoline by road in 2015″ to determine fuel consumption, and based on how far down the U.S. ranks in the “income spent” category, apparently the Americans do a lot of consuming.
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Check out the graphics over at Bloomberg; they act as an interesting way to contextualize what different fuel prices in different countries really mean.
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