Think you pay a lot for gas?

CNN reported this morning that the American Automobile Association's national gas price average has reached $4 a gallon for the first time in history.

Gasoline prices in the United States, which have recently hit record highs, are actually much lower than in many countries. Drivers in some European cities, like Amsterdam and Oslo, are paying nearly 3 times more than those in the U.S.

The main factor in price disparities between countries is government policy, according to AirInc, a company that tracks the cost of living in various places around the world. Many European nations tax gasoline heavily, with taxes making up as much as 75 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline, said a spokesperson for AirInc.

In a few Latin America and Middle-East nations, such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, oil is produced by a government-owned company and local gasoline prices are kept low as a benefit to the nation's citizens, he said. All prices updated June, 2008.

Country US$/gal
Sierra Leone 18.43
Norway 10.37
Turkey 10.14
Netherlands 9.73
Eritrea 9.58
Denmark 9.31
Germany 9.20
Finland 8.90
Portugal 8.90
Italy 8.78
Sweden 8.71
United Kingdom 8.56
Belgium 8.44
Hong Kong 8.33
Monaco 8.33
France 8.06
Iceland 8.06
Israel 7.95
Poland 7.80
Hungary 7.51
Croatia 7.38
Greece 7.38
Guatemala 7.38
South Korea 7.38
Spain 7.34
Switzerland 7.12
Cyprus 7.08
Romania 7.00
Slovenia 6.93
Estonia 6.62
New Zealand 6.13
Singapore 6.06
Uruguay 6.06
Brazil 6.02
Japan 5.83
Dominican Republic 5.72
Australia 5.60
Sri Lanka 5.53
Canada 5.49
India 5.15
Ukraine 5.03
Chile 4.81
South Africa 4.66
Philippines 4.62
Thailand 4.58
Colombia 4.05
Honduras 4.05
United States 4.02