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

Vehicle Technologies Program

Fact #233: September 9, 2002
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 2000. The symbols show the 1998 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 per thousand people in 1998 as the United States had in 1970; the former USSR in 1998 had the same ratio of vehicles per thousand people as the United States did in 1923; and China in 1998 had the same ratio of vehicles per thousand people as the United States did in 1913.

Historical U.S. Vehicles/1000 People Compared with
1998 Vehicles/1000 People around the World
Graph: Historical U.S. Vehicles/1000 People Compared to 1998 Vehicles/1000 People around the World

Supporting Information

Vehicles per Thousand People
Year U.S. Western
Europe
Indust.
Pacific
Eastern
Europe
Former
USSR
Devel.
Asia
China Middle
East
Africa Central &
S. America
1900 0.11                  
1901 0.19                  
1902 0.29                  
1903 0.41                  
1904 0.67                  
1905 0.94                  
1906 1.27                  
1907 1.65                  
1908 2.24                  
1909 3.45                  
1910 5.07                  
1911 6.81                  
1912 9.90                  
1913 12.94           12      
1914 17.79                  
1915 24.77               26  
1916 35.48                  
1917 49.57                  
1918 59.69         56   57    
1919 72.50                  
1920 86.78                  
1921 96.68                 100
1922 111.53                  
1923 134.90       134          
1924 154.35                  
1925 173.26                  
1926 189.10                  
1927 195.77                  
1928 204.87                  
1929 219.31                  
1930 217.34                  
1931 210.37                  
1932 195.38                  
1933 192.38                  
1934 199.90                  
1935 208.61                  
1936 222.62     217            
1937 233.33                  
1938 229.65                  
1939 236.93                  
1940 245.63                  
1941 261.57                  
1942 244.73                  
1943 225.89                  
1944 220.23                  
1945 221.80                  
1946 243.11                  
1947 262.56                  
1948 280.20                  
1949 299.56                  
1950 322.86                  
1951 335.19                  
1952 338.06                  
1953 350.95                  
1954 358.87                  
1955 377.80                  
1956 385.71                  
1957 390.30                  
1958 390.53                  
1959 401.25                  
1960 401.25                  
1961 413.53                  
1962 424.31                  
1963 436.99                  
1964 449.81                  
1965 465.03                  
1966 477.97                  
1967 487.67                  
1968 502.72                  
1969 518.54                  
1970 528.73 528                
1971 544.09                  
1972 565.98                  
1973 592.96                  
1974 607.58                  
1975 615.58   615              
1976 635.42                  
1977 645.17                  
1978 666.78                  
1979 674.81                  
1980 685.65                  
1981 689.80                  
1982 689.11                  
1983 700.41                  
1984 704.97                  
1985 721.61                  
1986 731.68                  
1987 738.42                  
1988 754.17                  
1989 759.08                  
1990 756.81                  
1991 746.12                  
1992 746.43                  
1993 752.82                  
1994 760.76                  
1995 766.85                  
1996 778.07                  
1997 775.83                  
1998 797.40                  
1999 808.47                  
2000 800.43                  

Sources:
U.S. data:
Vehicles: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2000, Table VM-1, and earlier annual editions.
Population: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census Web site
Time Series of National Population Estimates: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2001
Other countries/regions:
Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2002, DOE/EIA-0484(2002), p. 256.

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