THE stark difference in the cost of fuel between Caricom nations Jamaica and Trinidad is made clear in statistics from GlobalPetrolPrices.com, with Jamaicans paying more than the average global price, and Trinidadians paying considerably less.

At US$1.21 per litre of gasoline, Jamaicans pay US$0.10 more than the global average, according to the website which provides data on fuel prices around the world.

Jamaica has the same rate as countries such as Burkina Faso in West Africa and Bangladesh in south-east Asia.

Meanwhile, the cost of gas in Trinidad is US$0.90 — equal to Niger and just below the price in Mexico. But the difference is far greater for diesel, which sees oil importer Jamaica pay four times as much as oil producer Trinidad.

The cheapest country in the world to buy gas is Venezuela, where a litre costs only US$0.02. The USA has a price per litre of US$0.78, while the second-cheapest country in the Caribbean region is Panama at a price of US$0.88 per litre, followed by Trinidad & Tobago at US$0.90.

But it’s in the price of diesel that Trinidadians can really reap the benefit of low costs. The world average price for a litre of diesel is US$0.98 — but the same amount costs US$0.24 in Trinidad, making it the ninth-cheapest market on the globe — cheaper than major oil producers are Qatar (US$0.26 per litre) and Kuwait (US$0.35). Meanwhile, the price for diesel in Jamaica is US$1.11, or more than four times as much.

Several other Caribbean countries that have gas prices below the world average include: Dominica at US$0.93 per litre, Haiti at US$1.02 per litre, Guyana at US$1.09 per litre, Aruba and Antigua at US$1.10. Just over the average global price is the Cayman Islands at US$1.14. Meanwhile, Grenadian motorists also pay less than Jamaicans, at a cost of US$1.20 per litre.

Caribbean countries with a price higher than Jamaica include The Bahamas at US$1.26, the Dominican Republic at 1.29, Cuba at US$1.30, and Barbados at US$1.37. The most expensive Caricom country is Suriname, with a rate of US$1.50. Some Caribbean countries, such as St Lucia and St Vincent, are not included in the statistics.

The reason for the difference in fuel prices is due to countries adjusting the price through various taxes, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com

“All countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but then decide to impose different taxes,” GlobalPetrolPrices says on its website.

“As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices. One notable exception is the US, which is an economically advanced country but has low gas prices. The differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline,” GlobalPetrolPrices says.

The most expensive gasoline in the world can be found in Norway at a cost of US$2.01 per litre. The top ten most-expensive countries also include Bermuda at US$1.86 per litre, the UK at US$1.77 per litre, and Greece at US$1.76.

GlobalPetrolPrices.com updates gasoline and diesel prices every week, and currency values every day. The prices in this story were last updated on June 8, 2015.