In April, 2022, after the Guyana Government disclosed that Guyana’s proven oil reserves stood at over 11 billion barrels, I published an article entitled, “Guyana Boasts World’s Second Highest Oil Reserves Per Capita.” Since then, the Guyana Government announced numerous other oil discoveries, but did not update the country on the total volume of proven oil reserves in billions of barrels, a reality which reportedly worries international anti-corruption organizations. In July 2024, a US analytical company, S&P Global Inc., announced that Guyana’s proven oil reserves now stands at 18.7 billion barrels.
The proven oil reserves per capita is the total amount of oil in barrels divided by the total population. It calculates theoretically how many barrels of oil we can allocate to each citizen. While Guyana is a far cry behind the country with the world’s highest oil reserves, which is Venezuela with 300 billion barrels, Guyana is number one for oil reserves “per capita.” That is because Guyana has a much smaller population than Venezuela. The proven oil reserves per capita is a strong indicator of how rich a country is because it is strongly tied to GDP per capita. Over the last 5 years, oil exports have driven Guyana’s GDP per capita to the No. 42nd spot in the world and the highest in South America.
So, without further ado, here are the five countries with the world’s highest oil reserves per capita.
No. 5: Qatar
Qatar boasts about 25.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. It has a total population of approximately 2.9 million people. 25.2 billion divided by 2.9 million gives us 8689.5. Theoretically, with its current proven oil reserves, Qatar can give each of its citizens 8689.5 barrels of oil.
No. 4: The United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates boasts about 107 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. It has a total population of approximately 9.4 million people. 107 billion divided by 9.4 million gives us 11,382.9 Theoretically, with its current proven oil reserves, the UAE can give each of its citizens 11,382.9 barrels of oil.
No. 3: Venezuela
Venezuela boasts about 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. It has a total population of approximately 26 million people. 303 billion divided by 26 million gives us 11,653.8. Theoretically, with its current proven oil reserves, Venezuela can give each of its citizens 11,653.8 barrels of oil.
No. 2: Kuwait
Kuwait boasts about 101 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. It has a total population of approximately 4.349 million people. 101 billion divided by 4.349 million gives us 23,223.7. Theoretically, with its current proven oil reserves, Kuwait can give each of its citizens 23,223.7 barrels of oil.
No. 1: Guyana
Guyana boasts 18.7 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. It has a total population of approximately 800,000 million people. 18.7 billion divided by 800,000 million gives us 23,375. Theoretically, with its current proven oil reserves, Guyana can give each of its citizens 23,375 barrels of oil.
Editor’s Note: The figures stated above are rough estimates. The exact population of a country and the exact total proven oil reserves can be difficult to ascertain. Different sources give slightly different figures. To compile this data, we cross-referenced evidence from a variety of reputable sources. Some sources put Kuwait as still the highest in proven oil reserves per capita. However, even if Kuwait is neck to neck with Guyana, or higher, it is doubtless that Guyana will surpass Kuwait in proven oil reserves per capita in the coming years as new oil discoveries are regularly being made in Guyana.
