Which countries are most exposed to an oil shock?
When a supply line is cut, the countries that buy their energy from abroad are the ones left exposed. A net importer has to find the same barrels somewhere else, usually at a worse price. A net exporter often gains. This map ranks economies by how much of their energy use they bring in from outside their own borders.
The pattern is stark. South Korea, Japan and Italy import the large majority of their energy and sit at the top of the exposure list. The United States imports only a few percent of its energy. Norway, Saudi Arabia and Russia show large negative figures because they export far more than they consume.
Which countries are most exposed to an oil shock?
Energy import dependency by country. Deeper red = higher exposure.
| Country | Energy imports (% of use) |
|---|---|
| South Korea | 92.8% |
| Japan | 88.3% |
| Italy | 76.8% |
| Spain | 73.4% |
| Turkey | 72.4% |
| Greece | 65.2% |
| Germany | 63.1% |
| Philippines | 48.3% |
| France | 44.6% |
| Thailand | 42.1% |
| India | 36.7% |
| United Kingdom | 35.2% |
| Poland | 30.2% |
| Pakistan | 24.6% |
| Vietnam | 22.7% |
| China | 19.8% |
| Bangladesh | 15.3% |
| United States | 5.2% |
| Argentina | -5.4% |
| Mexico | -6.5% |
| Brazil | -8.3% |
| South Africa | -11.3% |
| Egypt | -13.8% |
| Indonesia | -45.2% |
| Canada | -73.2% |
| Russia | -87.4% |
| Nigeria | -129.4% |
| Australia | -198.5% |
| Saudi Arabia | -287.1% |
| Norway | -593.2% |
How this is built
The measure is net energy imports as a share of total energy use. A value of 88% means a country brings in 88% of the energy it consumes. A negative value means production runs ahead of consumption and the surplus is exported, so −593% for Norway reflects an economy that produces many times the energy it uses at home.
The figures are the latest year the World Bank has published for this indicator, which lags the present by a few years. They describe structural exposure rather than today’s flows, and they cover all energy rather than oil alone, so a country heavy in domestic gas or coal can still show low oil-shock exposure here.
Sources
World Bank Open Data, indicator EG.IMP.CONS.ZS, energy imports as a percentage of energy use (CC BY 4.0).