This chapter synthesizes statistical information evidencing the proposition that extractive industries are of great significance in many low- and middle-income developing economies, and so to their development prospects. It examines the scale of the current dependence of low- and middle-income economies on both types of extractive resources: metals, and oil and gas. The chapter also assesses how country levels of dependence have changed in the past twenty years, showing that there has been a clear upward trend based on exports. The chapter outlines how the upward trend has continued in many countries despite the recent commodity price collapse, and assesses some of the consequences of that collapse.