The Countries With The Largest Gold Reserves Mapped
During the 19th and early 20th century epochs of the gold standard, national governments were obligated to redeem the national currency for a specific quantity of gold. Back then, every nation’s central bank used its gold reserves to meet those commitments, backing some or all of the currency in issue with the gold it owned. Besides, gold reserves were stored by governments to meet the costs of waging war conflicts.
Nowadays, gold reserves are a valuable tool for governments, which buy large amounts of gold to neutralize rising inflation. Also, the value of imports and exports from a country is highly related to the nation’s currency. If imports surpass exports, the currency’s value falls, and vice versa. This signifies that a country that exports gold and has a surplus of gold reserves can often see a boost in the strength of its currency.
The World Gold Council assesses that all the gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, totaled about 200 thousand metric tons in 2020. Still, other independent estimations differ by as much as 20 percent. The total value of all gold ever excavated, which is accounted for, would surpass $7.5 trillion at that valuation.
The map below shows the top 10 countries with the largest stockpiles of gold.
