Bloomberg Gas Price Ranking
Highest and Cheapest Gasoline Prices by Country: Pain at the Pump - Bloomberg
United Kingdom
Price per gallon of gasoline: $7.33
Rank by most expensive gas: 8
Rank by pain at the pump: 39
The amount of income spent fueling up declined 20 percent in six months in the U.K. The country still pays more than many of its neighbors, having the eighth highest gas price in the ranking.
The U.K. may soon have a new tool in fighting fuel prices: new oil supplies. Shale rock beneath some of southern England’s wealthiest counties may contain billions of barrels of oil, according to a government report this year.
The U.K. has opened up regions for shale licensing and offered breaks to drillers to spur development. Shale drilling for gas and oil faces opposition over water contamination and greenhouse gas emissions.
The average income is $121. It takes 6.1 percent of a day’s wages to buy a gallon of gas.
Australia
Price per gallon of gasoline: $5.11
Rank by most expensive gas: 41
Rank by pain at the pump: 55
Australia was one of the first nations to institute a wide-ranging tax on carbon dioxide pollution. Now, under Prime Minister Tony Abbott, it’s become the first to revoke one.
The carbon tax shifted the price of energy so much that wind is now cheaper than coal or natural gas for producing electricity. The tax never applied to driving, which means Australians continued to enjoy relatively pain-free fill-ups at the “bowser” (the Aussie word for fuel pump).
The average daily income in Australia is $172, only 3 percent of which is needed to buy a gallon of gas. The country remains one of the biggest per-capita greenhouse-gas polluters in the world.
Canada
Price per gallon of gasoline: $4.51
Rank by most expensive gas: 44
Rank by pain at the pump: 53
Canada was once considered a leader on global warming. Now, it’s one of the biggest foot-draggers in global climate talks. The country has a lot to lose: Vast reserves of difficult-to-extract oil will take an environmental toll to produce, or an economic toll to keep in the ground.
Canadians have relatively high incomes and low gasoline prices. As with many other countries, cheap gas goes hand in hand with high consumption. Only Americans use more gasoline per person.
The average daily income is $139. It takes 3.3 percent of a day’s wages to afford a gallon of gas.
United States
Price per gallon of gasoline: $2.93
Rank by most expensive gas: 53
Rank by pain at the pump: 56
Americans saw the biggest gasoline price drop in the ranking: 21 percent. The cheapest gasoline prices since 2010 amounts to about $500 in annual savings for the average gas-guzzling American.
Of course, not all gas tanks are created equal. Even at low prices, America’s unparalleled thirst for gas takes a toll on budgets. The average daily income is $150, but there are only 11 countries in the world where people spend more of their paychecks on gas.
The global drop in oil prices is being driven by the unprecedented U.S. oil boom and Saudi Arabia’s refusal to cut its own production. Gasoline prices fell worldwide by an average 7.2 percent in the last six months.
Russia
Price per gallon of gasoline: $3.24
Rank by most expensive gas: 52
Rank by pain at the pump: 34
Russia, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, enjoys some of the cheapest gasoline prices on the global market. Still, with the country under pressure from U.S. and EU sanctions, ruble-denominated gas prices have soared .
Russia has spent more than $70 billion since the start of the Ukraine conflict to support its collapsing currency. Despite those efforts, the ruble has fallen more than any other major denomination. The tumbling price of oil, Russia’s biggest export, hasn’t helped.
Average daily income is $39. It takes 8.3 percent of a day’s wages to buy a gallon of gas.
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Highest and Cheapest Gasoline Prices by Country: Pain at the Pump - Bloomberg