Fun Statistic – Texas Alone Produces More Oil Than 190 Countries

We’re all aware – or should be – how Texas has been producing the occasional little bit of more oil recently. But it might not be true that we’ve all grasped quite how large this change is. There are now only four countries that produce more oil than Texas alone. That means the one single state is producing more oil than 190 entire countries do individually. Which is pretty good really.

It’s also a good advertisement for the idea that if you set up markets properly – delineate property rights clearly, that sort of thing – then those markets will solve natural resource problems for us. In a manner which the previous rather planned and regulated US oil production system didn’t.

This chart here is fun:

As to 190 countries, the UN’s got 193 at present and Gaza and the Vatican have observer status. The Vatican is a real country, so that gives us 194 of the things. So, why is Texas only producing more than 190?

Well, look again at the map. Iraq, Saudi and Russia are all, correctly, listed as producing more than Texas. But it’s not therefore three countries produce more. Because Texas – despite protestations from some Texans – is not an independent country. It is part of one, the US. Thus the US produces more oil than Texas. So, there are four countries that produce more, 190 less.