Gas Prices Around the World

Many world gas prices can make what Americans pay at the pump seem like a bargain. But not all.

A person fills their car with gas at a gas station.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

While inflation has impacted pretty much ever aspect of life in recent years, there's one place of quasi-relief for Americans: at the gas station. National gas prices are $3.449 per gallon for regular heading into the summer, according to AAA. That's down from $3.578 a year ago — and down from almost $3.70 earlier this year. 

The Kiplinger Letter team predicts gas prices will stay on average well above $3 per gallon this summer. "Fuel demand has been a bit weaker than normal for this time of year, and crude oil prices have pulled back, leading to lower costs at the retail level. That’s good news for the summer travel season and for tamping down overall inflation," writes Kiplinger Letter managing editor Jim Patterson. 

It's worth taking a look at gas prices around the world to see how our prices stack up on a global level. GlobalPetrolPrices.com, an energy data tracking company, puts U.S. gas prices in the bottom half of a global measure. And we pay the least for gasoline of any economically advanced country.

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Have a look at how U.S. gas prices compare with other countries, and then we’ll discuss what factors contribute to differences between nations.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
CountryPrice as of June 17 in USD per gallonHeader Cell - Column 2 Header Cell - Column 3
Australia$4.26Row 0 - Cell 2 Row 0 - Cell 3
Belgium$6.70Row 1 - Cell 2 Row 1 - Cell 3
Benin$4.21Row 2 - Cell 2 Row 2 - Cell 3
Brazil4.07Row 3 - Cell 2 Row 3 - Cell 3
Canada$5.06Row 4 - Cell 2 Row 4 - Cell 3
China$4.40Row 5 - Cell 2 Row 5 - Cell 3
Denmark$8.21Row 6 - Cell 2 Row 6 - Cell 3
France$7.32Row 7 - Cell 2 Row 7 - Cell 3
Finland$7.38Row 8 - Cell 2 Row 8 - Cell 3
Germany$7.15Row 9 - Cell 2 Row 9 - Cell 3
Greece$7.62Row 10 - Cell 2 Row 10 - Cell 3
Hong Kong$12.16Row 11 - Cell 2 Row 11 - Cell 3
Iceland$8.56Row 12 - Cell 2 Row 12 - Cell 3
India$4.58Row 13 - Cell 2 Row 13 - Cell 3
Ireland$7.29Row 14 - Cell 2 Row 14 - Cell 3
Israel$7.88Row 15 - Cell 2 Row 15 - Cell 3
Italy$7.52Row 16 - Cell 2 Row 16 - Cell 3
Japan$4.19Row 17 - Cell 2 Row 17 - Cell 3
Jordan$6.17Row 18 - Cell 2 Row 18 - Cell 3
Kuwait$1.30Row 19 - Cell 2 Row 19 - Cell 3
Madagascar$4.99Row 20 - Cell 2 Row 20 - Cell 3
Malawi$5.52Row 21 - Cell 2 Row 21 - Cell 3
Mexico$5.16Row 22 - Cell 2 Row 22 - Cell 3
Mozambique$5.11Row 23 - Cell 2 Row 23 - Cell 3
Netherlands$8.05Row 24 - Cell 2 Row 24 - Cell 3
Norway$7.89Row 25 - Cell 2 Row 25 - Cell 3
Pakistan$3.51Row 26 - Cell 2 Row 26 - Cell 3
Poland$6.09Row 27 - Cell 2 Row 27 - Cell 3
Qatar$2.18Row 28 - Cell 2 Row 28 - Cell 3
Russia$2.45Row 29 - Cell 2 Row 29 - Cell 3
Saudi Arabia$2.35Row 30 - Cell 2 Row 30 - Cell 3
Sierra Leone$5.77Row 31 - Cell 2 Row 31 - Cell 3
Singapore$7.64Row 32 - Cell 2 Row 32 - Cell 3
Sweden$6.63Row 33 - Cell 2 Row 33 - Cell 3
Turkey$4.69Row 34 - Cell 2 Row 34 - Cell 3
Ukraine$5.47Row 35 - Cell 2 Row 35 - Cell 3
United Kingdom$6.98Row 36 - Cell 2 Row 36 - Cell 3
United States$3.75Row 37 - Cell 2 Row 37 - Cell 3
Zimbabwe$6.02Row 38 - Cell 2 Row 38 - Cell 3
Prices are from GlobalPetrolPrices.com and reflect the cost of premium-grade gasolineRow 39 - Cell 1 Row 39 - Cell 2 Row 39 - Cell 3

Gas taxes are a big factor

So, why? Chiefly, taxes. While in the U.S. these vary considerably by state (and we’ve tracked the 10 states with the highest gas taxes as well as the lowest gas taxes), on balance, gasoline taxes in the U.S. are low on a global scale. And again, among industrialized countries (the 38 members of the OECD) only Mexico has lower fuel taxes.

Nevin Valev, owner of GlobalPetrolPrices, has said the U.S.’s low rate reflects Americans' need — and desire — to drive long distances, and the political unpopularity of higher taxes. The summer price surge of 2022, for example, led to a variety of gas tax holidays or suspensions by a range of states.

On the other hand, smaller countries like Denmark and the Netherlands collect gas taxes so high that they are well in excess of what’s needed to maintain roads – they’re used for other government spending, or to discourage consumption.

The U.S. dollar's effect is significant

But taxes aren’t the only story. Currencies matter, too. Fuel is traded in U.S. dollars. So, if a country’s currency weakens against the dollar, oil — and hence gasoline — becomes more expensive in that country — even if there’s been no change in the basic price of oil.

Those are, of course, oil-producing countries that can more easily subsidize domestic gasoline prices when oil prices are high. While the U.S. is an oil producer — and exporter — as well, it does not engage in this sort of market fiddling, with the exception of releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And in European countries with oil such as the United Kingdom and Norway, fossil fuels used domestically are heavily taxed.

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David Muhlbaum
Former Senior Online Editor

In his former role as Senior Online Editor, David edited and wrote a wide range of content for Kiplinger.com. With more than 20 years of experience with Kiplinger, David worked on numerous Kiplinger publications, including The Kiplinger Letter and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. He co-hosted  Your Money's Worth, Kiplinger's podcast and helped develop the Economic Forecasts feature.

With contributions from