Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
But motorists in most Western countries were jealous of our low price.
Almost all of them pay more, the Netherlands leading the pack at $7.91
a gallon in 2009 (table 6.3). The explanation for the relatively low price
in the United States is not that we pay less for a barrel of oil than others,
or pay less for refi ning it, or because we do not import as much oil as
nations in the European Union. The difference in price results from the
high taxes that these other countries place on gasoline (table 6.4).
Decades ago the governments in most developed countries decided to
derive a signifi cant part of their national income from the sale of gasoline
and diesel fuel. In some countries, as much as 75 percent of the price at
the pump is tax. In the United States in 2008, the price at the pump
varied wildly from $1.60 to $4.10 and averaged about $3.15; the federal
gasoline tax per gallon was 18.4 cents (unchanged since October 1993),
and the average state tax was 28.6 cents, for a total tax in 2008 of 47
Table 6.3
Prices of a gallon of regular gasoline in countries around the world
Eritrea
9.58
Poland
5.34
Turkey
9.24
Japan
5.34
India
3.79
Netherlands
7.91
China
3.58
Norway
7.91
Belgium
7.38
New Zealand
3.03
Denmark
7.34
Russia
3.02
Germany
7.19
United States
2.68
United Kingdom
7.00
Indonesia*
2.23
Italy
6.97
Mexico
2.12
France
6.89
Nigeria*
1.67
Sweden
6.89
Iran*
1.51
Finland
6.81
UAE*
1.40
Ireland
6.62
Oman
1.17
Israel
6.13
Bahrain
1.02
Spain
6.02
Kuwait*
0.87
Qatar*
0.83
Hungary
5.87
Saudi Arabia*
0.61
Greece
5.83
Libya*
0.57
Uruguay
5.75
Venezuela*
0.19
Switzerland
5.72
Austria
5.68
Note
: Most data are from 2009, but some are from 2008 or 2010 and may differ
slightly from those in 2009. Prices in U.S. dollars. * = OPEC members.
Source
: German Technical Corporation, International Fuel Prices, 2009, 2010.
