U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #360: February 21, 2005
Vehicles per Thousand People:United States Compared with Other Countries

The line on this graph shows the total vehicles per thousand people in the United States from 1900 to 2002. The symbols show the 2002 vehicles per thousand people in other countries and regions of the world. This shows that the Western European nations had the same ratio of vehicles to people in 2002 as the United States did in 1984. Eastern European nations in 2002 had the same ratio of vehicles to people as the United States did in 1936; and China in 2002 had the same ratio of people to vehicles as the United States did in 1913.

Vehicles per Thousand People:
United States. (over time) Compared with Other Countries (in 2002)
Graph showing vehicles per thousand people in the U.S. from 1900 to 2002 compared to other countries in 2002

Supporting Information

2002 Vehicle-to-People Ratio
for Other Countries
  Vehicles per
Thousand People
Africa 20.8
Central and South America 111.5
Asia, Far East 40.4
Asia, Middle East 82.7
China 12.0
Europe, East 214.7
Europe, West 730.2
Pacific 478.9
Canada 579.7

 

Vehicle-to-People Ratio for the United States
Year Vehicles per Thousand People   Year Vehicles per Thousand People
1900 0   1952 338
1901 0   1953 351
1902 0   1954 359
1903 0   1955 378
1904 1   1956 386
1905 1   1957 390
1906 1   1958 391
1907 2   1959 401
1908 2   1960 409
1909 3   1961 414
1910 5   1962 424
1911 7   1963 437
1912 10   1964 450
1913 13   1965 465
1914 18   1966 487
1915 25   1967 497
1916 35   1968 513
1917 50   1969 530
1918 60   1970 543
1919 72   1971 560
1920 87   1972 584
1921 97   1973 614
1922 112   1974 631
1923 135   1975 639
1924 154   1976 658
1925 173   1977 668
1926 189   1978 689
1927 196   1979 699
1928 205   1980 711
1929 219   1981 715
1930 217   1982 714
1931 210   1983 724
1932 195   1984 728
1933 192   1985 744
1934 200   1986 753
1935 209   1987 759
1936 223   1988 773
1937 233   1989 777
1938 230   1990 773
1939 237   1991 760
1940 246   1992 758
1941 262   1993 762
1942 245   1994 767
1943 226   1995 771
1944 220   1996 781
1945 222   1997 776
1946 243   1998 781
1947 263   1999 790
1948 280   2000 800
1949 300   2001 825
1950 323   2002 815
1951 335      

Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 24, Figure 3.1

 

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