Reuters is writing that the ongoing economic crisis has had a large impact for millionaires around the world. For the first time in more than 10 years the total wealth of the world has declined!

In 2009 the total number of millionaires in the world has fallen 17% compared to 2008 – currently there are only 9 000 000 millionaires left in the world.
Hardest hit are the millionaires in USA and Europe – both regions have 22% less millionaires than they had a year ago.
Don’t be alarmed however if you live in the States – with 3.9 million millionaires it is still the country with the largest number of millionaires in the world.

Do You Want a Friend Who is a Millionaire?

Following are Switzerland with 6.6 per cent of the population being millionaires, Kuwait with 5.1% and United Arab Emirates with 4.5% of people having more than a million dollars!
USA is lagging behind with 3.5% of its population being millionaires!

The Only Place In The World With Growing Wealth

If you are pessimistic about getting your first million then don’t worry – there is still hope.
It is projected that the world’s total wealth will be back to the 2007 levels by 2013 or later. This seems like a long time to wait but there is still a place in the world were more people get rich than lose their money.
This place is called Latin America – in 2008 they had 3% more millionaires than in 2007.

Have you noticed how everyone is talking about the high gas prices lately? Aren’t you fed up already? I am!

Talking about high gas prices seems to be the new national past time. A lot of people offline and even more online, are suddenly talking about how much they have to pay for gas.

There is also a growing number of people telling you that the current prices are nothing – you should see the gas prices in Europe! It’s true that the gas in Europe costs about $8 to $9 per gallon on average and even a bit more in some countries.

High prices make me feel bad.

If you know that it’s even worse somewhere else, it won’t make you happy. Just the opposite – It makes me feel even worse!

10 countries with cheapest gas

Today I am trying to make everyone a bit happier! Here is a list of 10 countries that have the cheapest gas prices in the world!

10. United Arab Emirates – $1.40/gallon or $0.37/liter

United Arab Emirates is a nice country to live in. In addition to having one of the cheapest gas prices in the world they are also the 4th rich country in the world.

Did you know that Ferrari Enzo takes a lot more gas than Toyota Prius? Thinking about it this way, makes it only logical to have super cheap gas for super rich people and there super expensive cars!

9. Egypt – $1.21/gallon or $0.32/litre

Starting from 1979 Egypt has gotten an average of $2.2 billion a year as foreign aid from the US. It’s only fair – the money to buy all that cheap gas has to come from somewhere!

8. Bahrain – $1.02/gallon or 0.27/liter

This small island country has a total area of only 266 mi² (665 km²). If you decide to drive around the island you should know that this trip will be about 100 miles (161 km). So why not give the people gas with dirt cheap prices? How much gas do they need anyway? It’s not like there are some far away destinations you could drive to.

7. Qatar – $0.83/gallon or $0.22/litre

If you would be the government of this second richest country in the world you wouldn’t want the people to pay too much for gas. After all – they can get mad at you if they don’t have enough money to buy their second airplane! So of course, it makes sense to keep gas prices really low in Qatar.

6. Kuwait – $0.79/gallon or 0.21$/liter

It’s pretty much the same deal in Kuwait as in Qatar! But Kuwait is only the 4th richest country in the world, so it makes sense that gas in Kuwait is a bit cheaper than in Qatar! People in Kuwait probably can’t afford the prices Qatar has!

5. Saudi Arabia – $0.45/gallon or $0.12/litre

When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visits foreign countries he usually goes with 6 planes – 1 for himself and his sons and another 5 for his closest friends. Everyone knows that planes consume a lot of fuel! Now if they would only lower the price a little bit they could afford to take with them that 7th personal Boeing 747.

4. Iran – $0.42/gallon or $0.11/liter

At current rate of production it is estimated that Iran will run out of oil in 74 years. They are trying to get rid of it faster by giving it away with really cheap prices.

3. Nigeria – $0.38/gallon or $0.10/litre

Nigeria has the 10th largest oil reserves in the world. They also have about 150 million people and a history of violence. Mix this with a government that is corrupt and want to keep the money they get from selling oil to other countries for more than $4/gallon (about $1.1/liter) it makes sense that they keep the local prices down. You don’t want to make the people mad, overthrow the government and kill everyone they don’t like! You can’t use the money after you die, can you?

2. Turkmenistan – $0.30/gallon or $0.08/liter

Turkmenistan is by far the coolest country on the list. Until December 2006 it was ruled by president for life Saparmurat_Niyazov. Some cool things he has done:

• Officially named the months of the year after his family members
• Won a “democratic election” with 99.9% of the votes!
• Closed down all rural libraries – “Ordinary Turkmenistan people don’t read books”

1. Venezuela – $0.19/gallon or 0.05$/litre

Venezuela is run by president Hugo Chavez – a quite well known guy for those who are following international politics. He is a lot into socialism. This includes having the state take control of privately held companies and doing pretty much whatever he thinks helps his people to have a better life.  The nice thing is that when he does something major he always asks the opinion of the people! If you had to vote would you rather choose high or low gas prices?

Take a road trip

Next time you are going on a road trip consider these countries. Cheap prices and guaranteed experiences!

For more good news on cheap gas prices – sign up to my full feed RSS or subscribe via email.

If you live on any of the above countries there is probably no need to check out the following post

10 ways to cut down on fuel costs

Here is a top 10 list of worlds richest countries according to CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia measured by GDP per capita. For those in the dark – GDP or Gross Domestic Product – is the value of all the goods that a country produces. GDP per capita stands for the value an average person produces.

10. Switzerland – $39,800 (GDP per capita)

This cheese making country is considered to be one of the most neutral countries in the world. During World War 2, people from other European countries deposited their money in the banks of Switzerland, knowing that their money would be safer there than in their home countries. Some well known Swiss companies include Nestle, Logitech, Rolex and Credit Suisse.

9. Equatorial Guinea – $44,100

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country in Central Africa. Most people have never heard of it. This country flew into stardom after 1996 when large oil reserves were found in the nation of only 0,5 million people. While being one of the largest producers of oil in Africa, little has been made to improve the living conditions of the people. Corruption is widespread and ordinary people are mostly living in poverty. The gap between rich and poor is probably the largest in the world.

8. Ireland - $45,600

This member of European Union has been often admired as one of the most modern knowledge economies in the world. Ireland is the largest maker of computer software in the world. A study done by The Economist ranked the Celtic Tiger to have the best quality of life in the world.

7. United States – $46,000

What sets the US apart from most other countries in this list is its size. While most other countries in this list are among the smallest in the world the US has a population of over 300 million and a total land area of 3,79 million square miles (9.83 million sq km). The US is also home to the largest amount of billionaires in the world. It is speculated that as many billionaires live in the US as in the rest of the world.

6. Singapore – $48,900

This tiny country consists of 63 island and some mainland with a total area of only 270 square miles (704 sq km). With Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan it is considered one of the Four Asian Tigers. Singapore has the busiest port in the world and is the 4th largest foreign exchange trading center in the world. Singapore is widely believed to be the most business-friendly economy in the world.

Page 2 – The Top 5 richest countries in the world