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USGS map depicts countries with largest supply of rare earth elements

Rare earth elements are "trending" in recent years, mainly due to their usefulness in the technology and the energy sectors. A recently released map created using the latest available data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shows the deposits of rare earth elements (AKA "rare earths") located globally.

USGS lists all known rare earth deposits, including those that remain unexplored and others that were explored and later abandoned because of economic or technological restrictions at the time of discovery. Areas marked with deeper red indicate more plentiful supplies of rare earths.

As you can see below, Russia, China, and India reportedly have the current top three areas of deposits, according to the map. After that, the United States, Vietnam, and Greenland (which belongs to Denmark) assemble a second tier. Those countries are followed by Canada, Tanzania, South Africa, Brazil, and parts of Australia.

It's also noteworthy that much of Brazil's geological supply, as well as deposits not shown directly on the map here in parts of Latin America, remain largely untapped, according to an accompanying USGS summary.

Per USGS: "the 17 rare earth elements, consisting of 15 lanthanides, along with scandium and yttrium, have distinctive magnetic and electrochemical characteristics" which make them critical for a number of technologies, particularly those in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and green energy.

Countries with substantial reserves of rare earth elements could therefore have a strategic advantage in the next stage of technological development. Their increasing centrality to the global economy also grants those with deposits, and the extraction and processing infrastructure necessary to capitalize on these, significant economic influence.