Explore the label

Canada Select any field
for ranking definition.

  • Environmental Performance 1 3
  • Social Progress 2 1
  • Governance 3
    • Control of Corruption 4 1
    • Government Effectiveness 5 1
    • Political Stability and Absence
      of Violence/Terrorism 6
      1
    • Regulatory Quality 7 1
    • Rule of Law 8 1
    • Voice and Accountability 9 1
  • Oil Reserves 10 3

Based on analysis by BMO Capital Markets in a series of ESG reports about Canadian oil, the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) created a visual “label” to compare the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of the world's top 10 oil reserve holding countries.

The label ranks ESG metrics from four recognized global benchmark indexes: Yale Environmental Performance IndexSocial Progress Imperative IndexWorld Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, and Freedom House.

The 10 countries ranked were chosen based on 2020 oil reserves data published in the most recent BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

Canada Select any field
for ranking definition.

  • Environmental Performance 1 3
  • Social Progress 2 1
  • Governance 3
    • Control of Corruption 4 1
    • Government Effectiveness 5 1
    • Political Stability and Absence
      of Violence/Terrorism 6
      1
    • Regulatory Quality 7 1
    • Rule of Law 8 1
    • Voice and Accountability 9 1
  • Oil Reserves 10 3
  • Saudi
    Arabia

    • Environmental Performance 1 6
    • Social Progress 2 6
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 4
      • Government Effectiveness 5 4
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        5
      • Regulatory Quality 7 4
      • Rule of Law 8 5
      • Voice and Accountability 9 9
    • Oil Reserves 10 2
  • United
    States

    • Environmental Performance 1 2
    • Social Progress 2 2
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 3
      • Government Effectiveness 5 3
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        4
      • Regulatory Quality 7 2
      • Rule of Law 8 2
      • Voice and Accountability 9 2
    • Oil Reserves 10 9
  • Venezuela

    • Environmental Performance 1 4
    • Social Progress 2 8
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 10
      • Government Effectiveness 5 10
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        7
      • Regulatory Quality 7 10
      • Rule of Law 8 10
      • Voice and Accountability 9 8
    • Oil Reserves 10 1
  • Iran

    • Environmental Performance 1 8
    • Social Progress 2 7
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 7
      • Government Effectiveness 5 7
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        8
      • Regulatory Quality 7 8
      • Rule of Law 8 7
      • Voice and Accountability 9 8
    • Oil Reserves 10 4
  • Iraq

    • Environmental Performance 1 9
    • Social Progress 2 9
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 7
      • Government Effectiveness 5 8
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        10
      • Regulatory Quality 7 7
      • Rule of Law 8 8
      • Voice and Accountability 9 4
    • Oil Reserves 10 5
  • Russia

    • Environmental Performance 1 7
    • Social Progress 2 4
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 6
      • Government Effectiveness 5 6
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        6
      • Regulatory Quality 7 6
      • Rule of Law 8 6
      • Voice and Accountability 9 5
    • Oil Reserves 10 6
  • Kuwait

    • Environmental Performance 1 5
    • Social Progress 2 3
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 5
      • Government Effectiveness 5 5
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        3
      • Regulatory Quality 7 5
      • Rule of Law 8 4
      • Voice and Accountability 9 3
    • Oil Reserves 10 7
  • United Arab
    Emirates

    • Environmental Performance 1 1
    • Social Progress 2 5
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 2
      • Government Effectiveness 5 2
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        2
      • Regulatory Quality 7 3
      • Rule of Law 8 3
      • Voice and Accountability 9 6
    • Oil Reserves 10 8
  • Libya

    • Environmental Performance 1 Not Available
    • Social Progress 2 10
    • Governance 3
      • Control of Corruption 4 9
      • Government Effectiveness 5 9
      • Political Stability and Absence
        of Violence/Terrorism 6
        9
      • Regulatory Quality 7 9
      • Rule of Law 8 9
      • Voice and Accountability 9 7
    • Oil Reserves 10 10

Label Sources and Definitions

1 Environmental Performance: Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world. Using 32 performance indicators across 11 issue categories, the index ranks 180 countries on environmental health and ecosystem vitality.

2 Social Progress: The Social Progress Imperative is a global non-profit based in Washington, DC. It defines social progress as the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential. The Social Progress Imperative Index measures 53 social and environmental indicators to create a clearer picture of what life is really like for everyday people. These indicators are divided across three broad dimensions of social progress: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity.

3 World Bank Governance Indicators: The World Bank Group, based in Washington, DC, is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

According to the World Bank, Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced, the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies, and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.

The Worldwide Governance Indicators report on six broad dimensions of governance for over 200 countries and territories: Control of Corruption, Government Effectiveness, Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Voice and Accountability.

  • 4 Control of Corruption captures perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as "capture" of the state by elites and private interests.

  • 5 Government Effectiveness captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies.

  • 6 Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism measures perceptions of the likelihood of political instability and/or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

  • 7 Regulatory Quality captures perceptions of the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that permit and promote private sector development.

  • 8 Rule of law captures perceptions of the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, and in particular the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the police, and the courts, as well as the likelihood of crime and violence.

  • 9 Voice and accountability captures perceptions of the extent to which a country’s citizens are able to participate in selecting their government, as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media.

10 Oil Reserves: Now in its 71st edition, the annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy is one of the most widely respected and authoritative publications in the field of energy economics, used for reference by the media, academia, world governments and energy companies. The CEC’s ranking of the world’s top 10 oil reserve holders is taken from this report.

11 Freedom Rating: Washington, DC-based non-profit Freedom House is founded on the core conviction that freedom flourishes in democratic nations where governments are accountable to their people. Annually, Freedom House rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories through its Freedom in the World report, using the designations “free,” “not free,” or “partly free.” Individual freedoms range from the right to vote to freedom of expression and equality before the law.