In 2006, Britain became a net importer of oil for the first time in decades.
China is the world's third-largest net importer of oil, behind the U.S. and Japan.
Since 2007 the country has been a net importer of food, after decades of self-sufficiency.
By 2030, some have estimated that the U.S. will become a net importer.
"We are a net importer where we used to be a net exporter, " he told BBC Scotland.
On current trends the kingdom would become a net importer of oil by 2038 (unlikely though that is).
The surge in demand for animal proteins is forcing China to become a net importer of chicken and pork.
Would-be investors in Indian funds (see table) should keep in mind that, unlike China, India is a net importer.
But by 2020, India is on course to become the biggest net importer of coal, to fuel its growth.
"It could produce as much as it needs but instead it is a net importer of fish, " he said.
Then, too, GDP counts net exports exports minus imports and the US, being a net importer, gets dinged on this most every quarter.
Once self-sufficient in oil, it has been a net importer since 1993 and today faces a widening oil deficit as demand outstrips supply.
But an unlikely ally has come along to help Taiwan, an increasingly impatient net importer of energy, in its normally dry search for natural gas.
FORBES: Taiwan Expects Rare Break In Dry Search For Natural Gas
It is perhaps symbolic that OPEC's current president, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, hails from a member country, Indonesia, that has just become a net importer of oil.
Theoretically, China could become a net importer of aluminum, even though 10 fully committed, verified expansion projects are coming in the next 18 months, Vazquez said.
FORBES: Stable-Higher Aluminum Expected From Participants, Delegates At Conference
Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of Africa, is now a net importer of food and facing acute shortages of most essentials such as fuel, electricity and medical drugs.
CNN: Diplomat: U.S. no longer supports Zimbabwe power-share deal
Britain will become a net importer of wheat for the first time in a decade this year because of bad weather, the National Farmers' Union has said.
For its part, India will overtake the United States as the second-biggest user of coal by 2025 and will be the largest net importer of coal by 2020, the IEA says.
FORBES: As Coal Use Drops In U.S., China and India Burn Even More
As for the possibility that China could one day become a net importer of rare earths, this is a potential problem for China but not in the way Beijing's chronic resource mercantilists might fear.
The Philippines has also seen its import bill rise, as has Indonesia, which became a net importer of oil in 2003, despite being the region's only member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Speaking of cost, sometime last year the notion began to circulate that China will one day become a net importer of the rare earth minerals for which it currently provides 90% of the global supply.
If it happens, this switch to net importer will be a sign that Beijing's export-blocking strategy of "encouraging" foreign manufacturers to locate plants in China (for want of available and affordable rare earths anywhere else) is working.
Would the search for short-term profits prompt a U.S. companies to sell the United States' technological "seed-corn, " and in so doing make it likely that this country would shortly become a net importer, instead of an exporter, of derivative products?
The message Mr Achleitner preached was radical at the time in Germany: capital markets are eclipsing house banks as a source of cash and Germany is now a net importer of capital, so companies need to woo international shareholders by becoming more transparent and setting themselves tougher targets.
China became a net oil importer in 1993, and further strengthened ties with Iran.
Malaysia will probably be a net oil importer by 2014 (gas is more abundant).
There are some ideas the country could become a net-importer of the metal.
FORBES: Price Outlook, China's Influence Among Topics For Aluminum Conference
应用推荐