Israel has the third highest price in the world for gasoline and the situation is unlikely to improve in the near future, according to a new Bloomberg survey.

The price of self-service 95 octane gasoline, which is government controlled, could rise from the current NIS 7.70 per liter to as much as NIS 8.25 per liter on September 1, due to the rise in the price of oil and the increase in the value added tax (VAT), which will come into effect the same day, Globes reported on Thursday.

Norway tops the “Bloomberg Ranking”, at $10.19 per gallon in the second quarter, followed by Turkey, at $9.41% per gallon.

Israel came in at third place, with the $9.28 per gallon of premium gasoline.

“The average daily income in Israel is $87, and it takes 11% of an average day’s wages to buy a gallon of gas,” Bloomberg reported.

According to Bloomberg, while Israel is “surrounded by oil producers in the Middle East,” the country itself  “drills very little.”

Gas prices have led to widespread social discontent and political demonstrations over the cost of living.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has intervened to prevent prices from rising with the global price of oil, most recently when he lowered price 2.9% on June 1, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources.

“While the country taxes gas, it simultaneously subsidizes oil. Israel paid about $565 million in subsidies in 2010, a relatively small contribution to the world’s $409 billion in global fossil-fuel subsidies,” Bloomberg reported.

Hong Kong and the Netherlands came in fourth and fifth place in the “Bloomberg Gas Price Ranking”. Venezuela is at the bottom of the rankings, with consumers paying $0.09 per gallon of gasoline.