What countries love gold the most?

What countries love gold the most?

08.11.2017

We have compiled a rating of countries that have strong feelings for gold. Who is among the leaders?

Based on the annual GFMS Gold Survey from Thomson Reuters, TOP 10 countries with the highest gold imports in 2016 have been defined. Let's get to know them better.

10. Egypt – 27.9 metric tons

Since the time of the pharaohs, the "solar" metal lives in the hearts of the Egyptians. It was called the "flesh of gods", it was worshiped and considered the highest reward, a symbol of status and power. Time goes by, but traditions remain unchanged: the love of gold has led Egypt to the 10th place in the ranking.

9. Russia – 30.2 metric tons

The Central Bank of Russia is among the largest gold buyers in the last few years. An excellent strategy for maintaining the national currency and fighting sanctions! Rumors go that Russia plans to reduce dependence on world currencies and may soon abandon the dollar and the euro in international transactions.

8. Indonesia – 34.2 metric tons

One of the most extensive natural gold reserves known to mankind resides in Indonesia. It also houses one of the largest gold mining projects in the world involving about 18 thousand people: Grasberg.

7. Saudi Arabia – 38.1 metric tons

A big breakthrough in this country occurred when it was allowed to invest in gold bars at the national level. Finally, the age-old cultural milestones have found expression in modern realities, and now Saudi Arabia is on top!

6. Turkey – 39.7 metric tons

In July 2016, Turkey purchased 62.8 tons of gold, which broke the country’s record of 1995. This spurt exceeded not only the expectations of many, but also the volume of gold reserves of some countries.

5. Iran – 39.7 metric tons

Iran opens the top five world leaders in terms of gold imports and does not seem to stop there. This is shown by the latest data from the World Gold Council report which shows an increase of 27% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

            

4. UAE – 46.2 metric tons

Dubai is even called the "golden capital", where fans of the yellow metal come from all over the world. This is not surprising, because there is a whole gold market, one of the oldest markets in the UAE and a great place to buy jewelry. And we certainly remember about the world's first ATM issuing physical gold bars which was installed in Dubai.

3. USA – 138.2 metric tons

After the Gold Rush at the end of the XIX century, the USA became a real golden power and a trendsetter in the global gold mining. In the modern world, the influence of yellow metal as a safe-haven asset has not weakened, which stimulates the growth of national reserves.

2. India – 463.1 metric tons

India's love of gold is widely known. Cultural traditions prescribe presenting gold gifts for important dates, and one of the folk proverbs even says: "A wedding without gold is not a wedding." By the way, the stocks of Indian housewives’ jewelry have impressive volumes: they make up about 11% of all gold in the world (equal to the reserves of the USA, Switzerland, Germany and the IMF combined).

1. China – 612.5 metric tons

Last year, China bought more gold than other members of our TOP 3, the United States and India. The number of wealthy people in the country is growing, and they are turning to traditional gifts, the eternal classics: gold. According to the forecast of McKinsey & Company analysts, this is far from the limit and in 2015 China will account for 44% of the world market of luxury goods, most of which is occupied by the yellow metal.

 

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