Energy
The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements
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The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements
The building blocks for everything on Earth are made from 90 different naturally occurring elements.
This visualization made by the European Chemical Society (EuChemS), shows a periodic table of these 90 different elements, highlighting which ones are in abundance and which ones are in serious threat as of 2021.
On the graphic, the area of each element relates to its number of atoms on a logarithmic scale. The color-coding shows whether there’s enough of each element, or whether the element is becoming scarce, based on current consumption levels.
Element | Full Name | Status |
---|---|---|
Ac | Actinium | Plentiful supply |
Ag | Silver | Serious threat |
AI | Aluminum | Plentiful supply |
Ar | Argon | Plentiful supply |
As | Arsenic | Serious threat |
At | Astatine | Plentiful supply |
Au | Gold | Limited availability |
B | Boron | Limited availability |
Ba | Barium | Plentiful supply |
Be | Beryllium | Plentiful supply |
Bi | Bismuth | Limited availability |
Br | Bromine | Plentiful supply |
C | Carbon | Plentiful supply / serious threat |
Ca | Calcium | Plentiful supply |
Cd | Cadmium | Rising threat |
Ce | Cerium | Plentiful supply |
CI | Chlorine | Plentiful supply |
Co | Cobalt | Rising threat |
Cr | Chromium | Rising threat |
Cs | Cesium | Plentiful supply |
Cu | Copper | Rising threat |
Dy | Dysprosium | Rising threat |
Er | Erbium | Plentiful supply |
Eu | Europium | Plentiful supply |
F | Flourine | Plentiful supply |
Fe | Iron | Plentiful supply |
Fr | Francium | Plentiful supply |
Ga | Gallium | Serious threat |
Gd | Gadolinium | Plentiful supply |
Ge | Germanium | Serious threat |
H | Hydrogen | Plentiful supply |
He | Helium | Serious threat |
Hf | Hafnium | Serious threat |
Hg | Mercury | Limited availability |
Ho | Holmium | Plentiful supply |
I | Iodine | Plentiful supply |
In | Indium | Serious threat |
Ir | Iridium | Rising threat |
K | Potassium | Plentiful supply |
Kr | Krypton | Plentiful supply |
La | Lanthanum | Plentiful supply |
Li | Lithium | Limited availability |
Lu | Lutetium | Plentiful supply |
Mg | Magnesium | Limited availability |
Mn | Manganese | Limited availability |
Mo | Molybdenum | Limited availability |
N | Nitrogen | Plentiful supply |
Na | Sodium | Plentiful supply |
Nb | Niobium | Limited availability |
Nd | Neodymium | Limited availability |
Ne | Neon | Plentify supply |
Ni | Nickel | Limited availability |
O | Oxygen | Plentiful supply |
Os | Osmium | Rising threat |
P | Phosphorus | Limited availability |
Pa | Protactinium | Plentiful supply |
Pb | Lead | Limited availability |
Pd | Palladium | Rising threat |
Po | Polonium | Plentiful supply |
Pr | Praseodymium | Plentiful supply |
Pt | Platinum | Rising threat |
Ra | Radium | Plentiful supply |
Rb | Rubidium | Plentiful supply |
Re | Rhenium | Plentiful supply |
Rh | Rhodium | Rising threat |
Rn | Radon | Plentify supply |
Ru | Ruthenium | Rising threat |
Sb | Antimony | Limited availability |
Sc | Scandium | Limited availability |
Se | Selenium | Limited availability |
Si | Silicon | Plentiful supply |
S | Sulfur | Plentiful supply |
Sm | Samarium | Plentiful supply |
Sn | Tin | Limited availability |
Sr | Strontium | Serious threat |
Ta | Tantalum | Serious threat |
Tb | Terbium | Plentiful supply |
Te | Tellurium | Serious threat |
Ti | Titanium | Plentiful supply |
TI | Thalium | Limited availability |
Tm | Thulium | Plentiful supply |
V | Vanadium | Limited availability |
W | Tungsten | Limited availability |
Xe | Xenon | Plentiful supply |
Y | Yttrium | Serious threat |
Yb | Ytterbium | Plentiful supply |
Zn | Zinc | Serious threat |
Zr | Zirconium | Limited availability |
Th | Thorium | Plentiful supply |
U | Uranium | Rising threat |
While these elements don’t technically run out and instead transform (except for helium, which rises and escapes from Earth’s atmosphere), some are being used up exceptionally fast, to the point where they may soon become extremely scarce.
One element worth pointing out on the graphic is carbon, which is three different colors: green, red, and dark gray.
- Green, because carbon is in abundance (to a fault) in the form of carbon dioxide
- Red, because it will soon cause a number of cataphoric problems if consumption habits don’t change
- Gray because carbon-based fuels often come from conflict countries
For more elements-related content, check out our channel dedicated to raw materials and the megatrends that drive them, VC Elements.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Countries
Charted: The World’s Biggest Oil Producers
Just three countries—the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia—make up the lion’s share of global oil supply. Here are the biggest oil producers in 2022.

Charted: The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2022
In 2022 oil prices peaked at more than $100 per barrel, hitting an eight-year high, after a full year of turmoil in the energy markets in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Oil companies doubled their profits and the economies of the biggest oil producers in the world got a major boost.
But which countries are responsible for most of the world’s oil supply? Using data from the Statistical Review of World Energy by the Energy Institute, we’ve visualized and ranked the world’s biggest oil producers.
Ranked: Oil Production By Country, in 2022
The U.S. has been the world’s biggest oil producer since 2018 and continued its dominance in 2022 by producing close to 18 million barrels per day (B/D). This accounted for nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Almost three-fourths of the country’s oil production is centered around five states: Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Alaska, and Colorado.
We rank the other major oil producers in the world below.
Rank | Country | 2022 Production (Thousand B/D) | YoY Change | Share of World Supply |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 17,770 | +6.5% | 18.9% |
2 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 12,136 | +10.8% | 12.9% |
3 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 11,202 | +1.8% | 11.9% |
4 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 5,576 | +3.0% | 5.9% |
5 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 4,520 | +10.2% | 4.8% |
6 | 🇨🇳 China | 4,111 | +2.9% | 4.4% |
7 | 🇦🇪 UAE | 4,020 | +10.4% | 4.3% |
8 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 3,822 | +4.6% | 4.1% |
9 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 3,107 | +3.9% | 3.3% |
10 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 3,028 | +12.0% | 3.2% |
11 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 1,944 | +0.9% | 2.1% |
12 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 1,901 | -6.3% | 2.0% |
13 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 1,769 | -2.0% | 1.9% |
14 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 1,768 | +1.8% | 1.9% |
15 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 1,474 | +8.9% | 1.6% |
16 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 1,450 | -11.2% | 1.5% |
17 | 🇦🇴 Angola | 1,190 | +1.1% | 1.3% |
18 | 🇱🇾 Libya | 1,088 | -14.3% | 1.2% |
19 | 🇴🇲 Oman | 1,064 | +9.6% | 1.1% |
20 | 🇬🇧 UK | 778 | -11.0% | 0.8% |
21 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 754 | +2.4% | 0.8% |
22 | 🇮🇳 India | 737 | -3.8% | 0.8% |
23 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 731 | +8.1% | 0.8% |
24 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 706 | +12.4% | 0.8% |
25 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 685 | -5.6% | 0.7% |
26 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 644 | -6.9% | 0.7% |
27 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 613 | +0.8% | 0.7% |
28 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 567 | -1.7% | 0.6% |
29 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 481 | +1.7% | 0.5% |
30 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 420 | -5.2% | 0.4% |
31 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 331 | -17.5% | 0.4% |
32 | 🇨🇩 Congo | 269 | -1.7% | 0.3% |
33 | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 244 | +1.0% | 0.3% |
34 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 194 | -1.2% | 0.2% |
35 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 191 | +5.4% | 0.2% |
36 | 🇸🇸 South Sudan | 141 | -7.6% | 0.2% |
37 | 🇵🇪 Peru | 128 | +0.5% | 0.1% |
38 | 🇹🇩 Chad | 124 | +6.2% | 0.1% |
39 | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | 119 | -9.2% | 0.1% |
40 | 🇸🇾 Syria | 93 | -2.7% | 0.1% |
41 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 92 | -7.9% | 0.1% |
42 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | 92 | -13.8% | 0.1% |
43 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 81 | -2.4% | 0.1% |
44 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | 74 | -3.6% | 0.1% |
45 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 65 | -6.2% | 0.1% |
46 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 65 | -1.6% | 0.1% |
47 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 63 | -0.9% | 0.1% |
48 | 🇸🇩 Sudan | 62 | -3.3% | 0.1% |
49 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 40 | -12.9% | 0.0% |
50 | Other CIS | 43 | +4.4% | 0.0% |
51 | Other Middle East | 210 | +1.2% | 0.2% |
52 | Other Africa | 283 | -3.4% | 0.3% |
53 | Other Europe | 230 | -20.5% | 0.2% |
54 | Other Asia Pacific | 177 | -10.6% | 0.2% |
55 | Other S. & Cent. America | 381 | +68.5% | 0.4% |
Total World | 93,848 | +4.2% | 100.0% |
Behind America’s considerable lead in oil production, Saudi Arabia (ranked 2nd) produced 12 million B/D, accounting for about 13% of global supply.
Russia came in third with 11 million B/D in 2022. Together, these top three oil producing behemoths, along with Canada (4th) and Iraq (5th), make up more than half of the entire world’s oil supply.
Meanwhile, the top 10 oil producers, including those ranked 6th to 10th—China, UAE, Iran, Brazil, and Kuwait—are responsible for more than 70% of the world’s oil production.
Notably, all top 10 oil giants increased their production between 2021–2022, and as a result, global output rose 4.2% year-on-year.
Major Oil Producing Regions in 2022
The Middle East accounts for one-third of global oil production and North America makes up almost another one-third of production. The Commonwealth of Independent States—an organization of post-Soviet Union countries—is another major regional producer of oil, with a 15% share of world production.
Region | 2022 Production (Thousand B/D) | YoY Change | Share of World Supply |
---|---|---|---|
Middle East | 30,743 | +9.2% | 32.8% |
North America | 25,290 | +5.3% | 27.0% |
CIS | 14,006 | +0.9% | 14.9% |
Africa | 7,043 | -3.5% | 7.5% |
Asia Pacific | 7,273 | -1.4% | 7.8% |
South & Central America | 6,361 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
Europe | 3,131 | -8.6% | 3.3% |
What’s starkly apparent in the data however is Europe’s declining share of oil production, now at 3% of the world’s supply. In the last 20 years the EU’s oil output has dropped by more than 50% due to a variety of factors, including stricter environmental regulations and a shift to natural gas.
Another lens to look at regional production is through OPEC members, which control about 35% of the world’s oil output and about 70% of the world’s oil reserves.
When taking into account the group of 10 oil exporting countries OPEC has relationships with, known as OPEC+, the share of oil production increases to more than half of the world’s supply.
Oil’s Big Balancing Act
Since it’s the very lifeblood of the modern economy, the countries that control significant amounts of oil production also reap immense political and economic benefits. Entire regions have been catapulted into prosperity and wars have been fought over the control of the resource.
At the same time, the ongoing effort to pivot to renewable energy is pushing many major oil exporters to diversify their economies. A notable example is Saudi Arabia, whose sovereign wealth fund has invested in companies like Uber and WeWork.
However, the world still needs oil, as it supplies nearly one-third of global energy demand.
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