Gas Prices Comparison

It always has been difficult to compare gas prices across the nation. For starters, the AIRINC numbers do not consider different salaries in different countries, or the different exchange rates. The dollar has lost significant ground to the euro lately. Because oil is priced in dollars, rising oil prices are not as hard on people paying with currencies which are stronger than the dollar, as they could basically buy more oil with their money as the dollar falls in value.

And then there is the different distances people drive, the public transportation options accessible, and the different services people get in exchange for high gas prices. For instance, Europe is stronger social safety net, involving cheaper health care and higher education, is paid for partly through gas taxes.

Gas Prices in United States and European countries

Most expensive places to buy gas

Rank

Country

Price/gal

1.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

$10.86

2.

Eritrea

$9.58

3.

Norway

$8.73

4.

United Kingdom

$8.38

5.

Netherlands

$8.37

6.

Monaco

$8.31

7.

Iceland

$8.28

8.

Belgium

$8.22

9.

France

$8.07

10.

Germany

$7.86

111.

United States

$3.45

Source: AIRINC

From this table it can be found out that despite daily headlines bemoaning record gas prices, the U.S. is in fact one of the cheapest places to fill up in the globe.  Out of one hundred and fifty countries surveyed, America gas prices were the 45th cheapest, according to current study from AIRINC, a research firm that tracks cost of living data (www.photius.com). The difference is stunning. As of late March, United States gas prices averaged $3.45 a gallon. That compares to over $8 a gallon across much of Europe.  The U.S. has regularly fought to keep gas prices low, and the latest debate among presidential candidates on how to keep them that way has been fierce.

Work cited

Gas prices. (2005). Retrieved on 26 November 26, 2008, from http://www.photius.com/rankings/gasoline_prices_rank.html

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