Rich countries Norsk etter engelsk tekst The value of a country's natural resources – such as oil , gas, minerals , timber , and precious metals – is a key factor for both economic strength and geopolitical power. Some countries possess enormous values underground, but they exploit them differently, depending on their governance, infrastructure, and institutional capacity. Based on updated figures from 2024–2025 ( Visual Capitalist , Investopedia , World Population Review , etc.), below are the twenty countries with the highest estimated resource value – as well as population and geographic size. Cfr. figures before 2024 Rank Country Resource Value (bn USD) Population (millions) Area (million km²) 1 Russia 75,000 146 17.10 2 USA 45,000 347 9.15 3 Saudi Arabia 34,000 34.6 2.15 4 Canada 33,000 40.1 9.09 5 Iran 27,300 88 1.65 6 China 23,000 1,408 9.60 7 Brazil 22,000 213 8.36 8 Australia 20,000 26 7.69 9 Iraq 16,0...