Countries With the Lowest Gas Prices in the World at the Start of 2023

The average price of gasoline around the world is $4.94 a gallon, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com. However, there is a wide difference in these prices among countries.

To identify the countries with the lowest gas prices at the start of 2023, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average price of gasoline in gallons in 168 countries from retail energy price data tracking website GlobalPetrolPrices.com. We considered the 36 countries with the lowest prices as of Jan. 23, 2023, starting with the United States. Population data is for 2021 and came from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators database. 

Gasoline prices are determined by crude oil cost, refining cost, distribution cost (wholesale and retail), and taxes. Because oil is a commodity on worldwide markets, countries generally have access to crude petroleum and refined oil products at similar prices in international markets. The distribution cost is relatively small, according to GlobalPertrolPrices.com, which leaves taxes as the main difference in gas prices across countries.

Once countries produce or import gasoline, they can choose to impose different taxes (excise, value-added, sales) or provide subsidies, which then account for much of the differences in prices across countries. The same holds true for different gas prices in U.S. states. 

In general, richer countries have higher gasoline prices than poorer nations and the countries that produce and export oil. The price of a gallon of gasoline in Hong Kong is $11.16, the most expensive on the planet. Six European nations – Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Monaco, Greece, and Finland – have among the 10 most expensive gasoline prices in the world. The price of gasoline in oil-rich Venezuela is subsidized and is the cheapest in the world at just 6 cents a gallon. (This is the country that has the most oil.)

The U.S. is a notable outlier as an advanced nation with relatively low gasoline prices. Prices in the Western states are about 20% higher than the national average, and in California, they are about 50% higher. The prices in the Midwest and the South are about 5% to 10% lower than the national average. In the Northeast, prices are about 5% higher. (This is the price of gas every year since 1990.)

Click here to see countries with the lowest gas prices in the world at the start of 2023.

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