Beirut Traffic Jam
The Economist’s 2005 edition of The Pocket World in Figures lists Lebanon as the country with the highest per-capita car ownership (732 per 1,000).
Lebanon?
But wait, it gets weirder - New Zealand ranks second, with 578 per 1,000. The U.S. ranks 12th, at 481 per 1,000, Canada 15th with 458 per 1000.
Why Lebanon? And why so many more than the other countries at the top of the car charts?
March 22nd, 2005 at 10:34 pm
Hmmm, maybe Lebanon is the country with the worst public transport and the worst conditions for bicycling (hills, windy, bad roads, car bombs going off)? Here’s another weird car statistic: Albania is the country where Mercedes has the biggest share of car ownership. I think about 70% or more of all cars in Albania is a Mercedes, mostly imported illegally and probably stolen elsewhere in Europe. An Albanian driving any other car is considered a poor sod indeed. And using my photo with this post is OK, no problem.