Countries rich with natural resources - Top ten list

The fast developing global economy accompanied by many new technologies is in the constant need of more and more natural resources. Throughout this article I will take a look at the top ten countries in terms of natural resources richness (as according to a Business Insider).

Venezuela is number ten. Venezuela is not only rich with oil but also belongs to top ten in terms of natural gas and iron.  Venezuela is currently sixth largest country in terms of proven oil reserves but with new drillings taking place all the time, this South American country could very soon improve its ranking, playing even bigger role in global oil market.

The next country is Iraq. In terms of natural resources oil definitely leads the way in this Asian country with 115 billion barrels of oil reserves, representing approximately 9% of world's total oil reserves. The country is also said to have excellent phosphate rock potential though this field of mining has just started developing and is yet to become a recognized industry.

Australia is a world leader in terms of gold, contributing to 14.3% of global gold reserves.  Land down under also leads the way in uranium, accounting for approximately 46% of global uranium production.

Brazil is particularly rich with wood thanks to vast area of Amazon rainforest, even despite the recent increase in deforestation. Besides wood, Brazil is also rich with gold, uranium, and especially iron.

China is world's fastest growing economy. The country is rich with coal and leads the world production of many rare minerals (necessary for many new technologies such as solar panels and electric cars).  Chinese have recently located significant natural gas deposits so this is yet another segment where China should soon become major player on global market.

Iran is extremely rich with oil, accounting for approximately one tenth of global oil reserves. The only bad thing for this country is international isolation because of consistent refusal to stop its nuclear development program.

The huge country Canada is also rich with oil thanks primarily to recent oil sands discoveries in Alberta. Canada is said to have more than 178 billions of proven oil reserves.  Canada is also rich in wood, has plenty of uranium, and is one of the leaders in phosphate production.

Saudi Arabia is extremely rich with oil, leading the world with approximately 20% of proven global oil reserves. This country is also rich with natural gas being fifth largest producer in the world.  There are fears that in few decades time Saudi Arabia might lose its economic power with the shrinking of country's oil reserves.

The United States is rich in wood, having 750 million acres of forested areas. U.S. is also extremely rich with coal, leading the world with 31.2% of global coal reserves. U.S. is also in top five in terms of copper, gold and natural gas reserves.

Russia is by far the largest country in the world, so it's really no surprise that it also has the most natural resources.  Russia leads the world in wood and natural gas reserves, is second ranked in coal, and third in gold reserves.  Russia's oil reserves are also among largest in the world, and with the recent plans about mining in Arctic area Russia could soon become world's largest oil producer. Russia is also rich with rare minerals (Siberia).