Global gold production rises to record levels of 3,661 tons

The 10 largest gold producing countries in the world

The 10 largest gold producing countries in the world: Who controls the precious metal?

Humans have extracted approximately 220,000 tons of gold from the Earth's interior since the beginning of humanity until the end of last year. However, the vast majority of it was only discovered in the last two centuries. It is estimated that 86% of the gold found outside the Earth's interior was extracted only 200 years ago.

Of course, these quantities are not distributed fairly among people, as the average per capita share of gold is less than 3 grams. If you and your family have more gold than this average per capita, you are likely wealthy, especially since central banks are reducing this supply by holding approximately 17% of the world's gold, estimated at $24 trillion.

Over the past four years, gold acquisitions have accelerated, whether institutionally through central banks or for hedging purposes, with the growth of exchange-traded funds tracking the yellow metal, or even through the jewelry industry. At the same time, manufacturing-driven demand for gold has slowed, especially as it has become a key component of the delicate technological components within smartphones and electronic devices.

The 10 Largest Gold-Producing Countries in the World

Data from the World Gold Council shows that gold mining volume has fluctuated over the past three years, but reached an all-time high last year with production of 3,661 tons, with a significant increase in exploration-related investments following record-high prices. But who controls the largest amount of production? Data indicates that China has not fallen from the top spot in the world in gold production since overtaking South Africa in 2007. China's gold production reached 380.2 tons last year, but its record production was 463.7 tons in 2016.

Top 10 Gold Producing Countries by the End of 2024

China (380.2 tons)1-

Russia (330 tons)2-

Australia (284 tons)3-

Canada (202.1 tons)4-

United States (158 tons)5-

Ghana (140.6 tons)6-

Mexico (140.3 tons)7-

Indonesia (140.1 tons)8-

Peru (136.9 tons)9-

Uzbekistan (129.1 tons)10-

South Africa, which dominated the list for more than five decades with annual production exceeding 1,000 tons, has continued to decline, reaching only 99 tons last year. In addition to its massive gold production, China imports dozens of tons of the yellow metal annually, marking a major shift in its investment policy. The People's Bank of China ranks among the world's central banks holding the least gold relative to its massive reserves, which exceed $3 trillion, according to previous data from Bloomberg. Even despite their massive gold production, China and Russia lag far behind in the list of the world's largest central banks holding gold.

The 5 Largest Central Banks Holding Gold

US Federal Reserve (8,133 tons)

German Bundesbank (3,352 tons)

Italy (2,452 tons)

France (2,437 tons)

China (2,280 tons)

Gold continues to dominate human culture around the world, both in the East and the West. This is clearly evident in the distribution of the 212,000 tons of gold produced by 2021, according to data from the World Gold Council. Gold in jewelry accounts for 45% of the total global gold, while gold in bullion for private investment represents 22%, with a total quantity exceeding 47,454 tons.

However, the most striking paradox lies in the fact that the world's largest gold-producing continents retain only small quantities of it. Africa alone accounts for slightly less than a third of the world's annual production, and in some years, half of the world's gold production was extracted from the African continent.

The largest gold-producing continents:

Africa (1,010 tons)

Asia (665 tons)

Commonwealth and Independent States (CIS), including Russia and Uzbekistan (584 tons)

Central and South America (519 tons)

North America (500 tons)

Oceania (346 tons)