Venezuela is the only oil producer that increases debt

[naaman fletcher]

fter eight years of high oil prices, it has become clear that oil exporters, except for Venezuela, have a consistent policy to save a part of revenues and reduce debt.

Data and projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that the Middle East and Central Asia petro-states have realized that oil does not escape the law of gravity. Therefore, they avoid the lack of fiscal control during times of booming oil prices.

This group of countries includes Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen. These countries have reduced their debt significantly in the past five years.

...

Meanwhile, the group of oil producing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Nigeria, Angola, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon have also reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio from 37 percent in 2004-2008 to 23.9 percent in 2010, according to IMF data.


http://english.eluniversal.com/2011/07/06/venezuela-is-the-only-oil-producer-that-increases-debt.shtml

Better planning by Congo, fyi.