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Governments around the world that blew massive windfalls

Windfalls that fuelled spending sprees and scandals
NNauru's phosphate windfall: $1.2 billion (£894m)
Nauru's phosphate windfall: $1.2 billion (£894m)
Zimbabwe's diamonds windfall: $2.2 billion (£1.7bn)
Zimbabwe's diamonds windfall: $2.2 billion (£1.7bn)
South Sudan's oil windfall: $4 billion (£3.1bn)
South Sudan's oil windfall: $4 billion (£3.1bn)
Chad's oil windfall: $13 billion (£10bn)
Chad's oil windfall: $13 billion (£10bn)
Equatorial Guinea's oil windfall: $45 billion (£34.5bn)
Equatorial Guinea's oil windfall: $45 billion (£34.5bn)
Trinidad and Tobago's oil windfall: $77 billion (£59bn)
Trinidad and Tobago's oil windfall: $77 billion (£59bn)
Algeria's oil windfall: $99.2 billion (£76bn)
Algeria's oil windfall: $99.2 billion (£76bn)
Azerbaijan's oil windfall: $100 billion (£76.6bn)
Azerbaijan's oil windfall: $100 billion (£76.6bn)
Canada's non-renewable resources windfall: $145 billion (£111bn)
Canada's non-renewable resources windfall: $145 billion (£111bn)
Australia's mining boom windfall: $199 billion (£152bn)
Australia's mining boom windfall: $199 billion (£152bn)
The UK's oil windfall: $391.7 billion (£300bn)
The UK's oil windfall: $391.7 billion (£300bn)
Nigeria's oil windfall: $1 trillion (£766bn)
Nigeria's oil windfall: $1 trillion (£766bn)
Venezuela's oil windfall: $1.3 trillion (£996bn)
Venezuela's oil windfall: $1.3 trillion (£996bn)
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William WEst/AFP/Getty

Windfalls that fuelled spending sprees and scandals

It's an all too common predicament – a government discovers massive reserves of oil or another natural resource, and proceeds to fritter away the money. Whether that’s through corruption or ill-judged government schemes, poor spending choices seem to go hand in hand with massive windfalls. Here are the cautionary tales of nations that wasted huge payouts from natural resources. All dollar values in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
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lovemoney staff

21 January 2020

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