The countries with the most oil (in terms of proven reserves , not daily production) are led by Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada, and Iraq, followed closely by the UAE, Kuwait, Russia, the United States, and Libya. These top ten countries together hold well over a trillion barrels of proven reserves and dominate long‑term oil supply discussions.

Proven reserves: top countries

Here are the countries most commonly listed at the top when ranking proven oil reserves (rounded, in billion barrels):

  • Venezuela – about 303 billion barrels
  • Saudi Arabia – about 267 billion barrels
  • Iran – about 208–209 billion barrels
  • Canada – about 160+ billion barrels
  • Iraq – about 145 billion barrels
  • United Arab Emirates – about 110+ billion barrels
  • Kuwait – about 101–102 billion barrels
  • Russia – about 80 billion barrels
  • United States – roughly 70–75 billion barrels
  • Libya – about 48 billion barrels

These figures vary slightly between datasets but the ranking of the main players is very consistent.

Reserves vs production

Talking about “which countries have the most oil” can mean two different things.

  • By reserves: Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada, and Iraq are at the top, as above.
  • By production: the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, and Iraq are typically the largest producers in recent years, even though some of them do not have the very largest reserves.

This gap happens because some countries with huge reserves (like Venezuela) do not produce as much due to investment, sanctions, or infrastructure issues, while others extract more aggressively.

Simple HTML table of top reserves

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Rank</th>
      <th>Country</th>
      <th>Proven oil reserves (approx, billion barrels)</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>1</td><td>Venezuela</td><td>≈303</td></tr>
    <tr><td>2</td><td>Saudi Arabia</td><td>≈267</td></tr>
    <tr><td>3</td><td>Iran</td><td>≈208–209</td></tr>
    <tr><td>4</td><td>Canada</td><td>≈160+</td></tr>
    <tr><td>5</td><td>Iraq</td><td>≈145</td></tr>
    <tr><td>6</td><td>United Arab Emirates</td><td>≈110+</td></tr>
    <tr><td>7</td><td>Kuwait</td><td>≈101–102</td></tr>
    <tr><td>8</td><td>Russia</td><td>≈80</td></tr>
    <tr><td>9</td><td>United States</td><td>≈70–75</td></tr>
    <tr><td>10</td><td>Libya</td><td>≈48</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Figures are harmonized from multiple recent rankings of proven reserves published in 2024–2025.

Why this is a trending topic

  • Energy security: Concentration of reserves in a small group of countries keeps debates about dependence on foreign oil very active, especially for Europe and Asia.
  • Geopolitics: Many top‑reserve countries are also key actors in OPEC or OPEC+, so their policies strongly influence global prices.
  • Transition to renewables: Even as the world talks about decarbonization, large reserves remain economically and strategically important in the 2020s.

In many forum discussions, people mix up “who has the most oil” with “who pumps the most oil,” so it helps to clarify whether the debate is about reserves in the ground or barrels coming out each day.

TL;DR: Venezuela and Saudi Arabia sit at the very top by proven reserves, but the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia are more dominant on the production side today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.