Global crude oil reserves share by country 1960-2023

The Middle East accounts for the greatest share of proved oil reserves of any region in the world. As of 2023, the Middle East housed some 55.5 percent of known oil reserves. In the past three decades, the Middle East’s share of global oil reserves dropped from nearly 63 percent in 1960 to less than 56 percent in 2020. This was mainly due to greater reserves discovered in the Americas and by 2023 Latin America’s share had almost tripled. 

The regional distribution shifts

The Middle East and Latin America are home to the two countries with the highest proven oil reserves worldwide - Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.

Venezuela and Saudi Arabia are also among the founding members of OPEC, an organization currently comprised of 13 countries that produce around 40 percent of total crude oil globally. In 2009, Venezuela confirmed significant oil discoveries, and in the span of just a few years, Central and South American proved oil reserves rose from 120 to around 330 billion barrels of crude oil. Venezuela announced in 2011 that its proven oil reserves had surpassed Saudi Arabia as the largest in the world. Most of these reserves are in the form of oil sands and other very heavy oil types.