Where in the world is the USA? Collected statistics related to the environment compare the USA to other nations.

Often in the midst of conversation, Lee Moore will throw out a cogent statistic or two related to the subject at hand. While some folks make up such statistics, Lee's interests have led him to compile reliable statistics on a wide range of subjects. Here are a number of lists largely related to environmental concerns from his personal collection.


Gasoline Prices: USD per gallon (2005)
Norway 6.2
Britain 6.0
Germany 6.0
Italy 5.9
France 5.7
Poland 5.0
Japan 4.4
Australia 3.7
USA 2.4
(Raw cost is everywhere $2/gal; the difference is tax to discourage consumption and fund mass transit.)

Gasoline Consumption : Gallons per person per year (1997)
USA 459
Germany 140
Japan 113
(Germany is the second largest consumer worldwide, so the USA really stands out.)

Fuel Economy : avg passenger vehicle mpg and average engine size (2005)
Japan 48 mpg
Europe 41 mpg 1.6 (avg engine size in liters)
Australia 32 mpg
Canada 28 mpg
USA 24 mpg 3.4 (avg engine size in liters)

Oil Consumption : barrels per person per year (1999)
USA 25
Japan 16
Europe  14
Latin Amer 4

Oil Reserves
Billions of barrels (2005)  and years remaining at current extraction rates. New fields will of course be found.
Saudi Arabia 260 billion barrels, 66 years at current rate
Iran 140 billion barrels, 93 years at current rate
Iraq 115 billion barrels, 100 years at current rate
Kuwait 100 billion barrels,100 years at current rate
UAE 100 billion barrels, 97 years at current rate
Venezuela 80 billion barrels, 73 years at current rate
Russia 75 billion barrels, 21 years at current rate
Kazakhstan 40 billion barrels, 80 years at current rate
Libya 40 billion barrels, 63 years at current rate
Nigeria 40 billion barrels, 38 years at current rate
USA 35 billion barrels, 12 years at current rate
Canada 20 billion barrels, 15 years at current rate
China 20 billion barrels, 12 years at current rate
Mexico 15 billion barrels, 10 years at current rate

Water Consumption: Cubic meters per person, includes agriculture (2002)
USA 1690
Canada 1430
Australia 940
Japan 720
Germany 710
France 700
Britain 200

CO2 Emissions : Tonnes per person (2002)
USA 20
Singapore 14
Czech Rep. 10
Russia 10
Japan 9
Poland 8
Hungary 6
Mexico 4
China 3
India 1.5

Organic Farmland: % agricultural land certified organic (2004)
Switzerland 10.3
Austria 9.8
Finland 7.1
Italy 7.0
Denmark 6.2
Sweden 6.0
Britain 4.2
Germany 4.1
Australia 2.6
Spain 2.5
Canada 0.9
Japan 0.7
USA 0.2

Environmental Taxes: Taxes on energy use, big cars, etc -- as % of total taxes. (2005)
Denmark 9.5
Holland 9.5
Germany 7.0
Britain 7.0
Japan 6.0
Poland 6.0
Spain 5.5
France 5.0
Canada 3.5
USA 3.0
(As total taxes are lowest in the USA, the actual environmental taxes are very low.)

Miscellaneous  Facts

• In 2000 the Total National Energy Use in average BTUs per person per day was 48 in Europe and 368 in the USA.
• The average American generates over 1600 pounds of garbage per year, more than twice that of the average European.
• The average American consumes nearly 750 pounds of paper per year, by far the most in the world.
• If the world's 6 billion people consumed like the average American, we would need at least 4 more planets to supply the resources and absorb the wastes.
• In 2003 the average American consumed 53 times more resources than a Chinese, and 35 times more than an Indian.
• American use of oil:  66% to all transportation, 40% to auto/truck gasoline.

Sources ‒ OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), US Census Bureau, Office of Economic Development, US Energy Information Adm., US Dept of Health, Justice Policy Institute, Standard and  Poor's, UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Education Statistics, Eurostat