10 countries with the lowest gas prices

[Boris Karloff]

In recent years, drivers have felt it each time they pull into a gas station: a sudden pang in the heart, and a low whimper sounding from their wallets.

One gallon of gas in the United States cost $3.417 US on Oct. 10 — a bit over 90 cents Canadian per litre. That's significantly off the $4 US or more American drivers have had to shell out in recent years.

It's not that way everywhere. In fact, in some countries gas is given away or downright cheap. The list of countries where you can find the cheapest gas at the pump:

Venezuela (7.6 cents US/G or 2 Canadian cents per litre)

Iran (37.9 cents US/G or 10 Canadian cents per litre)

Saudi Arabia (60.6 cents US/G or 16 Canadian cents per litre)

Libya (64.4 cents US/G or 19 Canadian cents per litre)

Qatar (71.9 cents US/G or just over 19 Canadian cents per litre)

Bahrain (79.5 cents US/G or 21 Canadian cents per litre)

Turkmenistan (83.3 cents US/G or 22 Canadian cents per litre)

Kuwait (87.1 cents US/G or 23 Canadian cents per litre)

Oman ($1.173 US/G or 31 Canadian cents per litre)

Algeria ($1.211 US/G or 32 Canadian cents per litre)

You may notice some similarities between these countries. First, none of these countries are considered to have developed economies. Second, none are considered to be full democracies. Third, they are all countries where you might expect to find oil. Re-ordering the above ranking according to the "CIA Factbook's" oil production and consumption statistics for 2010, we get:

Saudi Arabia (No. 1 production, No. 8 consumption)

Iran (No. 5 production, No. 14 consumption)

Kuwait (No. 11 production, No. 36 consumption)

Venezuela (No. 13 production, No. 24 consumption)

Algeria (No. 16 production, No. 40 consumption)

Libya (No. 18 production, No. 46 consumption)

Qatar (No. 20 production, No. 62 consumption)

Oman (No. 25 production, No. 70 consumption)

Turkmenistan (No. 41 production, No. 72 consumption)

Bahrain (No. 64 production, No. 101 consumption)

Some countries consume more than they produce (Bahrain), while Turkmenistan (1.7 barrels produced/consumed), Iran (2.3 barrels produced/consumed) and Venezuela (3.18 barrels produced/consumed) almost do.

Why would a country that produces so much oil want to keep prices at home so cheap, and thus keep demand high?

One reason is that low prices help governments present a picture of being benevolent, especially in countries facing high poverty rates. Another reason is that it sends a message that a country's resources can be used at home as well.

While motorists in the developed world might gnash their teeth at the thought of drivers in distant lands filling up a tank of gas for less than a cup of coffee, putting prices in dollar terms doesn't tell the whole story. After all, the average salary in the United States and Canada is likely to be higher than the countries on this list.

Looking at a country's GDP based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita gives us an idea of a country's income per head while taking into account price differences. (In the United States this figure was $46,860 in 2010):

Venezuela ($12,048 US)

Iran ($11,882 US)

Saudi Arabia ($22,606 US)

Libya ($13,845 US)

Qatar ($88,221 US)

Bahrain ($26,931 US)

Turkmenistan ($6,804 US)

Kuwait ($38,774 US)

Oman ($25,491 US)

Algeria ($6,965 US)

Looking at things this way takes some wind out of cheap gas' sails. While paying $1.211 US for a gallon of gas (or 32 cents Canadian for a litre) seems cheap, it doesn't look so cheap when Algeria's per capita GDP at PPP is $6,965 US.

In Algeria, filling up twice a month for a year would be $435 US, or about 6 per cent of per capita GDP at PPP. Filling up a tank in the U.S. the same number of times at $3.417 US per gallon would cost $1,230 US year, or 2.6 per cent of per capita GDP.

Despite drivers across the world having different levels of pay, keeping oil prices artificially low puts governments in a tough position.

It makes it difficult for them to let market forces take over in the future, especially since an increase in prices will be felt immediately. As seen in the U.S., people are very vocal about gas prices even though they make up a small portion of the average driver's annual spending.

It squanders a significant source of revenue that could be used to promote economic and social development. The government should be pumping money into a sovereign wealth fund that can be used to build non-commodity based industries.

It distorts consumer behavior by giving individuals and businesses an incentive to drive. This means that there is less of a reason to create more efficient technology, which means that there is lower demand for engineers and scientists.

According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the sovereign wealth funds of some oil-rich countries are lacking. From the above list of countries with the cheapest gas, Oman, Iran, Algeria and Venezuela score poorly when it comes to transparency. Additionally, several have very low assets considering the amount of oil that is produced; Venezuela ($800 million US) and Iran ($23 billion US) should have better fund balances.

Governments know that the pressure is on, and some are moving away from heavy fuel subsidies. At the same time, the Arab Spring may make it more difficult to initiate the market reforms required to let gas prices appreciate.

If you are a government trying to maintain power over an unhappy population, the last thing that you want is to increase gas prices and anger them more. Whether countries can continue letting the domestic market siphon off cheap gas depends largely on political will, but it also will depend on how much oil they have left to dole out. After all, gas may be cheap but oil supply is quite limited.

--cbc.ca

[ILikeToParty]

Scary how much oil is in the middle east and theyre still so neanderthal, frightening

[NightCap424]

Originally Posted by ILikeToParty

Scary how much oil is in the middle east and theyre still so neanderthal, frightening

doesn't the US have one of the largest oil reserves in the world or was I drunk when I heard that...?

[cptkirk321]

Originally Posted by NightCap424

doesn't the US have one of the largest oil reserves in the world or was I drunk when I heard that...?

Drunk I guess, LOL!! 13th or 14th on the list. Saudi Arabia first, Canada second, Iran third, Iraq fourth and Kuwait round out the top 5

[Mendoza Line]

I think US is near the top in natural gas.

[MCP313]

Originally Posted by ILikeToParty

Scary how much oil is in the middle east and theyre still so neanderthal, frightening

When is the last time you've been there?

I got a couple of neanderthal stories myself about this group living in a nearby trailer park you might enjoy. Just sayin.

[ILikeToParty]

Originally Posted by MtrCtyPimp

When is the last time you've been there?

I got a couple of neanderthal stories myself about this group living in a nearby trailer park you might enjoy. Just sayin.

Yeah but the trailer trash isnt sitting on hundreds of billions (or more???) of oil.

With me it just goes back to their religious beliefs and thats what scares me. The crazy stuff they believe in and how they feel about people who dont believe the same. Im serious anti-religious and their "religions" are the scariest and most neanderthal imo. Thats all Im trying to say.

I may be called a racist/bigot/whatever but I really dont care. Those people scare me, theyre just whacked to the umpteenth degree and Im not afraid to say it. 9/11 only happened cuz of whacked religious beliefs, just like so many other killings and bombings. All religion is garbage to me

[MCP313]

I never called the trailer park people "trash"....just said some of the things I'm sure we've all seen in all places can be described as "neanderthal".

As far as religion goes there are nut jobs in all religions everywhere. The same can be said about anybody anywhere, regardless of where they're from or who they're associated with.

IMO I just don't think an accurate depiction is presented of the Middle East over here to be honest with you.

PEACE

[thinkingdog]

Originally Posted by MtrCtyPimp

I never called the trailer park people "trash"....just said some of the things I'm sure we've all seen in all places can be described as "neanderthal".

Perhaps "medieval" or "archaic" would be more appropriate descriptives?

[Quiksilver]

Originally Posted by thinkingdog

Perhaps "medieval" or "archaic" would be more appropriate descriptives?

We could just as easily replace one of those words with "old fashioned" or "old school." Now, I'm not saying that there aren't cultural differences...of course there are but that doesn't make it better or worse. I love how some people think that the US is "so progressive" or whatever but yet people in Europe think we live in the dark ages or something based on some of the Puritanical institutions in place here.

Just as one example for the record the US didn't allow women the right to vote until less then a century ago (enacted by that bastion of progressive thinking known as Wyoming). Along those lines...we've never had a female president while some of the Muslim countries have. Let's not forget that the Temperance movement that gave us Prohibition in the 20's and 30's. So while alcohol (as an example) is forbidden there the idea of forbidding alcohol here isn't all that foreign to us.

And as far as religious fanatiscism goes there are nutjobs that come in all races, religions, whatever. While you may not understand why people there believe in their religious beliefs, I guarantee you that they can't even begin to comprehend a priest doing there thing sexually with young boys like with we saw in the Catholic Church here.

And like Mtrcitypimp said...the Arabs are always depicted here in a negative light. There was one study done that surveyed something like a year's worth of news, movies, TV, etc and the top ethnicity that was portrayed as being "bad" was you guessed it- Arabs.

[Quiksilver]

I've been to Velenzuela. Beautiful country, culture, women. But the reason why its so cheap there is b/c it is a producer and the state subsidizes it. The problem is that only something like 10% of the population (read-the ruling class) have cars.

[PHILLYBIRDS20]

Originally Posted by ILikeToParty

Scary how much oil is in the middle east and theyre still so neanderthal, frightening

killwhiteydummy

[JR7302001]

Kill multiculturalism!