Ranking Of G-20 Countries’ Energy Security Before and During the Iran War

Originally published on Forbes.com on March 7, 2026

Energy securities are dissected for 20 countries in normal times. But also during the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, when oil and gas disruptions vary from negligible to severe.  

In the past year, energy security has become one of the main issues across the globe. The war in Ukraine threatened the EU’s energy supplies, particularly when Russian supplies of natural gas were cut and had to be replaced by LNG sources from the U.S. and Qatar. The second Trump administration switched from climate change as an existential threat to energy security. And now about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies have been cut by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A timely chart of energy security in G20 countries has been published by THB author Roger Pielke.

Eight Energy Sectors

The chart measures energy self-sufficiency, which is a simpler concept than energy independence. Pielke explains that self-sufficiency is the domestic supply of energy in a sector divided by consumption. Eight energy sectors were evaluated: nuclear, hydropower, wind/solar/geothermal, fossil-fuel electricity generation, bioenergy, liquid fuels, natural gas, and coal.

If the supply covers all consumption, the index is 100, and the country is self-sufficient in this energy sector. If supply covers none of consumption, all this energy needs to be imported, and the index is zero.

The liquid fuels sector is tied to crude oil supply and consumption, rather than breaking it up into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc.

Each of the different energy sectors is then weighted by the energy expenditure by consumers, measured by local currency as a fraction of GDP. The length of each energy sector bar in the chart is a measure of self-sufficiency times the monetary value of that sector (i.e., money expended by consumers in that sector).

Finally, the weighted sectors are averaged to form a single index for energy security of each country, which stretches from 0 to 100. Finally, Pielke cautions that the chart is a work in progress.

Results from the chart

Three countries supply all of their energy needs, and have an index of 100: Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Canada. The U.S. is fifth, with an index of 91. Two South American countries are fourth and sixth: Brazil and Argentina. Mexico is seventh, at 82. In these seven countries, energy security depends predominantly on crude oil fuels plus fossil electricity (via coal and gas).

The EU countries of Germany, France, and Italy all lie below 40 on the index scale. France depends most on nuclear, while Germany and Italy depend most on renewables (solar, wind, and geothermal). Since the turn of the century, these countries have turned away from oil and gas. And Germany and Italy turned away from nuclear. But France did not—they depend most on the nuclear sector.

The UK fares better, with an index of 73. Crude oil fuels from the North Sea are the largest spenders.

Australia and China are similar in that crude oil fuels and fossil electricity (coal and gas) are what the countries depend most on for their energy security. But their final indices are 70 and 65, and quite a bit short of self-sufficiency.

Japan and South Korea are at the bottom of the table, and are the most vulnerable countries in respect to energy security.

Closure of the Strait Of Hormuz. We know that in normal times, roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas transits through the Strait of Hormuz. Pielke has calculated how much oil and natural gas came through the Strait for each country in January 2025. Then used this to adjust the indices of three energy sectors that will be disrupted by the closure of the Strait: crude oil fuels, natural gas (LNG tankers), and fossil electricity (for gas-fired power plants).

In all countries, crude oil fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuels) dominate the disruptions over natural gas and LNG.

Here are the results for certain countries. For Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Canada, no change. In the U.S., the index of 91 will fall by 1.3 points. Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico will fall by close to 2 points, and are little affected.

The European countries of the UK, Germany, and France all lie below 40 on the index scale and are moderately affected, all falling by less than 3.5 points. Italy falls by 8.5 points, which is more serious.

Surprisingly, Japan and South Korea, the least energy-secure of all countries, fall by only 3 and 3.5 points, so they are a lot less affected by the closure of the Strait than the remainder of the countries on the chart.

Four countries are seriously affected, falling by 6.5 – 10 points on the chart: Turkey, Italy, China, and Australia. We have heard that shipments of oil to China have been allowed through the Strait because they have a close relationship with Iran. My brother called from Australia last night and said diesel prices are sky-high, which makes sense as the country has a normal energy security index of 70, which would fall to 60 under closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In Australia, energy security is all about crude oil fuels, because it’s not self-sufficient in these. But, it is self-sufficient in LNG as Australia is number 3 in the world for LNG exports.

The worst disruptions are in India (falling by 13 points) and Indonesia (falling by 14). But recent news is that India, the Philippines, and Pakistan have negotiated with Iran to allow shipments of crude oil through the Strait.

Political Reactions

Although beyond the purview of this article, Pielke illustrates how some countries might react and try to improve their energy security. He suggests Australia might expand EV cars and trucks to reduce spending on gasoline and diesel. Italy and Germany might re-embrace nuclear. Indonesia might expand its existing production of liquid biofuels. One other thought, India might import cheap solar panels and grid batteries to take advantage of their new relationship with China.