How Guyana Became the World’s Fastest Growing Economy Overnight
In 2015 a single oil discovery changed everything. A country most people cannot find on a map suddenly found itself sitting on more oil per person than Saudi Arabia. And in 2022 its economy grew by 62% in a single year — the fastest of any country on earth.
This is the story of Guyana. A nation that went from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere to the world’s fastest growing economy almost overnight. But the real question is not how they found the oil. The real question is whether they can avoid the curse that destroyed every country that came before them.
Venezuela had the world’s largest oil reserves. Nigeria sits on enormous petroleum wealth. Both collapsed. Will Guyana be different?
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Colonial History and Independence
3:30 Socialist Disaster and Brain Drain
5:30 The Oil Discovery of 2015
7:30 The Numbers That Shocked the World
9:00 The Resource Curse Warning Signs
10:30 Norway Model or Nigeria Model
11:30 Lessons and What Comes Next
📌 WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
How Guyana went from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere to fastest growing economy on earth
Why the 2015 ExxonMobil oil discovery was one of the most significant in modern history
How Guyana has more oil per person than Saudi Arabia
Why the resource curse destroyed Venezuela and Nigeria and whether Guyana can avoid the same fate
What the Norway model and Nigeria model mean and which path Guyana is choosing
Why the contract Guyana signed with ExxonMobil has been widely criticised by economists
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💬 Do you think Guyana will become the next Norway or the next Venezuela? Drop your prediction in the comments.
📌 MORE FROM ECONOMIC SAVVY
▶️ How Venezuela Went From the Richest Country in Latin America to Complete Economic Collapse
▶️ Why the World is 21 Miles Away from Economic Collapse
▶️ How Dubai Tricked the World Into Thinking It Was Rich
📚 SOURCES & FURTHER READING
World Bank — Guyana Economic Data
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/guyana
International Monetary Fund — Guyana GDP Growth
https://www.imf.org/en/countries/GUY
ExxonMobil — Stabroek Block Discovery
https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/locations/guyana
Natural Resource Governance Institute — Guyana Oil Contract
https://resourcegovernance.org/countries/guyana
The Economist — Guyana Oil Boom
https://www.economist.com
Financial Times — Guyana Economy
https://www.ft.com
DISCLAIMER
This video is for educational purposes only. All information is based on publicly available economic data and historical records.
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About The Author
All the profits is going to Exxon Mobil of America and a percentage is coming to Guyana . It is not going to the government but Exxon .
I hate these kind of videos. So miss leading. The oil wealth isn't going to the regular people. Yes the government has a bit extra revenues but that's about it. If they did what Norway or Arabia did then it would be different but right now the Oil wealth is going to EXON and Chevron.