The lives of over a billion citizens could be transformed if their governments managed their oil, gas and minerals in a more open, accountable manner, according to the Resource Governance Index.

The Index measures the transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining sector of 58 countries worldwide and finds that the vast majority surveyed fail to meet satisfactory standards in how their natural resources are governed. In these countries, opacity, corruption and weak processes keep citizens from fully benefiting from their countries’ resource wealth.

Natural Resource Governance Institute 2013