Which countries have the cheapest and most expensive gas prices?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine last year sent commodity prices upside down. Many things were impacted: wheat, fertiliser, and especially oil. This sent gas prices hurtling upwards, reaching peaks in the US of $5.02 per gallon on 14 June, 2022.

While people living in the US thought they had it bad, and in relative terms they did, other countries around the world were affected more. Despite prices decreasing wholesale in 2023, there are still many countries with prices far outstipping the US.

Using data from globalpetrolprices.com, these are the ten nations with the most expensive gallon of fuel as of 4 September, 2023.

The most significant factor influencing gas prices globally is the price of crude oil; the primary raw material. Changes in global oil supply and demand, geopolitical tensions, production disruptions, and OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) decisions all impact crude oil prices, which in turn affect gas prices. OPEC recently made a deal to restrict oil production, which has been linked to the creeping up of gas prices in the last month.

Which countries have the cheapest gasoline?

Using the same website as a measure, these are the top ten nations with the cheapest gasoline per US gallon.

Why do these countries have such cheap fuel? For one, they all have vast oil reserves. Alongside this, the three cheapest of Venezuela, Libya, and Iran, all have difficulties exporting their produce, either through war or sanctions imposed by the US. This means more of the fuel is available for public consumption and isn’t exported.