OPEC member countries
The twelve members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries: five founders from 1960, and seven that joined later and stayed while others left.
12 countriesAs of September 2026Short notes, not sourcedSuggest a correction
OPEC was founded in Baghdad in September 1960 by five oil exporters who wanted more say over the price of their oil, then set by a handful of Western oil companies. Its headquarters has been in Vienna since 1965, although Austria has never been a member. Members agree how much oil each will produce, to steer the world price.
Its power was clearest in 1973, when Arab members cut supplies to countries that had backed Israel in the Yom Kippur War and the price of oil quadrupled. Since 2016 OPEC has also set output with about ten other exporters, led by Russia, in a group known as OPEC+. Members come and go: Qatar left in 2019, Ecuador in 2020 and Angola in 2024.
Founders (1960)5
The five countries that met in Baghdad.
IraqHosted the founding conference in Baghdad.
Saudi ArabiaOPEC’s largest producer, and the one with the most spare capacity to raise or cut output quickly.
VenezuelaHas the largest proven oil reserves in the world, much of it heavy oil in the Orinoco Belt. A Venezuelan minister, Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, was one of OPEC’s founders.
Joined later7
The members who joined after 1960 and are still in.
LibyaJoined in 1962.
United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi joined in 1967, and the membership passed to the United Arab Emirates when it formed in 1971.
AlgeriaJoined in 1969.
NigeriaJoined in 1971. Africa’s largest oil producer for most of the time since.
GabonJoined in 1975, left in 1995 and came back in 2016.
Equatorial GuineaJoined in 2017, about twenty years after oil was found off its coast.
Republic of the CongoThe Republic of the Congo joined in 2018, the newest member.
Close calls
Former members
Qatar left in 2019 to concentrate on natural gas, Ecuador in 2020, citing its finances, and Angola in 2024 after a row over production limits. Indonesia joined in 1962 and left twice, the second time in 2016, having become an oil importer.
OPEC+
Russia, Kazakhstan, Mexico and others agree output with OPEC in the OPEC+ group but aren’t members of OPEC itself, so they aren’t on this list.
The biggest producers
The United States has been the world’s largest oil producer since 2018, and Canada and Brazil also pump more than most members. None of them has joined.
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