Changes in Vehicles per Capita around the World
June 29, 2009
The graphs below show the number of motor vehicles per thousand people for various countries. The data for the U.S. are displayed in the line which goes from 1900 to 2007. The points labeled on that line show data for the other countries/regions around the world and how their vehicles per thousand people compare to the U.S. at two different points in time, 1996 and 2007. For instance, the top graph shows that in 1996, Western Europe's vehicles per thousand people was about where the U.S. was in 1967, but by 2007 it is about where the U.S. was in 1972. The lower part of the graph (1900-1940) is shown enlarged below the first graph.
Africa's ratio stayed nearly the same over the ten year period. China's ratio more than tripled from 1996 to 2007.
Vehicles per Thousand People: U.S. (Over Time) Compared to Other Selected Countries (in 1996 and 2007)
Vehicles per Thousand People: U.S., 1900-1940 (Enlarged)
Source
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 28, Figure 3.1, June 2009.