The world’s largest gold hoarders
The latest report from the World Gold Council (WGC) reveals which nation is holding onto the most gold across the globe.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) data shows that total global gold holdings amount to 31.8 kilotonnes (31.8 million kilograms) as at August 2014.
At a spot price of US$1,298.96 per ounce (Bloomberg, 19 August), the total value of the global holdings in gold (1,12 billion oz) is US$1.46 trillion.
The value of gold holdings is calculated using the end of month London PM fix gold price published daily by The London Gold Market Fixing.
With a massive hold on 8.1 kilotonnes of gold, the United States remains the biggest hoarder of the metal in the world.
The USA’s holdings far outweigh the second and third largest holders, Germany and the IMF, which have 3.4 kilotonnes and 2.8 kilotonnes of gold, respectively.
South Africa, with a holding of 125.1 tonnes, ranks 29th overall, but is not the biggest gold holder in Africa, with the top spot on the continent held by Algeria, with a 173.6 tonnes of gold held.
Top 10 global gold hoarders
| # | Country | Gold Holdings (Tonnes) |
| 1 | United States | 8,133.5 |
| 2 | Germany | 3,384.2 |
| 3 | IMF | 2,814.0 |
| 4 | Italy | 2,451.8 |
| 5 | France | 2,435.4 |
| 6 | Russia | 1,094.7 |
| 7 | China | 1,054.1 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 1,040.0 |
| 9 | Japan | 765.2 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 612.5 |
Top 10 African gold hoarders
| # | Country | Gold Holdings (Tonnes) |
| 24 | Algeria | 173.6 |
| 29 | South Africa | 125.1 |
| 31 | Libya | 116.6 |
| 41 | Egypt | 75.6 |
| 58 | Morocco | 22.0 |
| 60 | Nigeria | 21.4 |
| 72 | Ghana | 8.7 |
| 79 | Tunisia | 6.8 |
| 83 | Mozambique | 5.0 |
| 86 | Mauritius | 3.9 |
According to Metals Focus’ Gold and Silver Mining Focus 2014, emerging and developing markets including South Africa make up the bulk of the world’s top gold producers.
As recently as 2006, South Africa was known as the world’s top gold producer, but has since slipped to 5th position, below the USA, Russia, Australia and China.
China is the world’s top producer of gold, with a 14.1 million ounce output in 2013.
Notably, South Africa and Australia, as two of the world’s biggest gold producers, hold relatively little of the resource they mine (ranked 29th and 38th, respectively).
Top 5 global gold producers 2013
| # | Country | Output (Millions oz) |
| 1 | China | 14.1 |
| 2 | Australia | 8.53 |
| 3 | Russia | 7.99 |
| 4 | United States | 7.42 |
| 5 | South Africa | 5.84 |
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