[attach id=236045 size="medium"]The Maltese consumed an average of 0.17 gallons of petrol a day. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier[/attach]

Maltese drivers pay the 19th most expensive petrol prices among 60 nations worldwide, according to Bloomberg rankings published yesterday.

The average price at the pump in Malta was $7.44 (€5.54) per gallon, the survey found.

This was the 24th most “painful” pump price in the world, when the percentage of average daily income devoted to filling up the tank was taken into account.

The Maltese consumed an average of 0.17 gallons of petrol a day, the survey found.

According to financial information agency Bloomberg, the average daily income in Malta was $55 (€40.93); 14 per cent of which was splurged on petrol.

But if you think that is high, then be thankful you do not live in Turkey, where petrol prices are the highest in the world at $9.89 (€7.36) a gallon – costing Turks a third of their daily income, making them seventh highest in the ‘pain index’.

The average daily income in Malta was €40.93; 14 per cent of which was splurged on petrol

Norwegians pay $9.63 (€7.17) per gallon, making their country the second most expensive for drivers but leaving them only 51st on the pain index due to their average daily income of $280 (€203.38).

Malta’s northern neighbours Italy had the fourth most expensive gas prices at $8.87 (€6.60) a gallon, but Italians were 31st on the pain index due to their average daily income of $88 (€65.49).

Bloomberg noted that Italian petrol prices rose sharply after Prime Minister Mario Monti came to power in November 2011 and raised fuel taxes about 25 per cent as part of his austerity efforts to rein in the country’s budget.

The UK had the 13th most expensive petrol prices at $8.06 (€5.99) per gallon, putting the Brits at number 39 on the pain index.

Among EU countries, Malta also had cheaper average pump prices than the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Belgium, France, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Germany, Slovakia and Slovenia.

However, Malta was higher in the pain rankings than all these countries except Portugal, Greece and Slovakia.

Besides Turkey and Norway, the only other countries in the top 30 of average petrol prices outside of the EU were Hong Kong (11th), Israel (16th), Switzerland (21st), South Korea (29th) and New Zealand (30th).

As Bloomberg pointed out, “not all gas tanks are created equal”.

Americans guzzle much more fuel than anyone else, for example, which takes a heavy toll on the family budget despite lower prices.

And the average Pakistani or Indian would have to put in more than a full day’s work, on average, to afford a single gallon of gas in their country.

Prices were measured per gallon of regular unleaded petrol from January 3 to 18.

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