World gold reserves in the world. Gold reserves of the countries of the world
The gold reserves of the countries of the world act as an indicator expressed in US dollars. It displays in full all the foreign exchange and financial assets at the disposal of the bank of the state, which are used for the operational regulation of the financial balance of states and are relevant at a clearly established point in time.
Insurance and reserve funds
The gold reserves of the countries of the world are essentially centralized in the format of bars and coins and are part of the official gold and foreign exchange reserves of states. It is at the disposal of the country's monetary authority and under the control of world organizations that are involved in lending. Today this metal is used by almost all countries of the world as an "safety cushion". In the past, during the period of free rotation precious metal, it was used as collateral for payments between states, for payments within the country and for contributions.
A bit of history
In 1913, the gold reserves of the countries of the world (about 60%) were concentrated within centralized reserves. About 40% were in free circulation. With the development and transformation of the economy, the metal was replaced by banknotes, which led to its concentration within the framework of specialized funds. There was a period in history when the precious metal played the role of money in individual states of the world. From 1929 to his role was to provide worldwide payments. In the post-war period (1939 -1945), the weakening of the economies of most countries of the world led to a sharp increase in the role of gold. The stage of asset accumulation in the frames of each individual country has come. Today, the leaders in terms of gold reserves are the following countries:
- America - 8133.46 tons.
- Germany - 3384.2 tons.
- Italy - 2451.84 tons.
- France - 2,435.38 tons.
- Russia - 1208.2 tons.
The top ten leaders include countries such as China and Japan, Switzerland and the Netherlands, India.
Modern stocks
Modern gold reserves, accounting for which are concentrated not only in the dominant banks different countries but also in the IMF reserve. The gold reserves of the countries of the world in 2014-2015 are estimated at 32 thousand tons. This volume does not include the metal that is currently on hand in the format of coins and jewelry. Reserves are replenished annually thanks to gold mining. By the way, the gold reserves of the countries of the world (1/100 part) were mined within 5 years during the California gold rush. Many scientists are inclined to believe that the precious metal itself is of cosmic origin, and modern ore deposits appeared on the planet about 4 billion years ago.
Distribution of the gold reserve in 2000
At the very beginning of 2000, the volume of mined gold amounted to about 150.4 thousand tons. They were differentiated as follows:
- About 30 thousand tons - in central banks and international organizations.
- 79 thousand tons - in the format of jewelry.
- 17 thousand tons were spent on products in dentistry and the electronics industry.
- 24 thousand tons are concentrated in the form of investments.
By 2009, the volume of gold reserves increased to 165 thousand tons worth more than $ 5 trillion. Gold reserves of the countries of the world (2013-2014) amounted to about 166.6 thousand tons. The amount of precious metal continues to increase.
Return of gold to the global financial system
Despite the abandonment of gold as a legal tender many years ago, countries continue to actively accumulate this precious metal, systematically increasing its purchases. In particular, the gold reserves of the countries of the world for 2014 increased sharply due to the buildup of the reserve by many leading countries:
- Russia increased its reserves in 2013 to 1,040.71 tons, which is twice as much as it was recorded in 2009. In 2013, purchases of 150 tons of yellow metal were carried out.
- India in 2013 increased the reserve from 35 tons to 67 tons.
- Countries such as Kazakhstan, China and Iraq are actively increasing their reserves, but without official figures. China plans to increase the size of its gold fund to 10-11 thousand tons of gold.
- Brazil does not purchase metal, but it is actively expanding its production capacity. The government plans for the period from 2014 to 2021 to increase the volume to 180 tons per year.
Gold in the world arena
The rating of the gold reserves of the countries of the world would be formed by the events in history that took place in the 1930s. During that period, most of the world's states feared a German invasion. Almost all gold reserves were transported to America for preservation purposes, where they are stored in a specialized vault of the US Federal Reserve Bank in New York. The United States controls the IMF almost entirely, which is unable to sell its own gold reserves without the consent of the American Congress. This policy of the country does not satisfy all states, and from time to time countries make attempts to return their savings home. For example, in 2011, Venezuela launched a large company that was aimed at returning gold that was at that time abroad to the country. The result of such an event was the return to the territory of the state of more than 17 thousand of 29 thousand ingots that belong to the state. Most of the stock of Germany is stored in America, which, despite desperate and intense attempts to return it home, has not been able to achieve the desired result. Panic in the world is caused by the fact that rumors about the replacement of the precious metal in the US vaults with its copies, gold-plated tungsten bars, are quite widespread.
Guardian of guarantees
The gold reserves of the countries of the world, which in 2013 amounted to slightly less than 170 thousand tons, are today partially stored in America in a specialized storage facility. The room for the precious metal was built back in 1920, and it is located at a depth of about 25 meters underground. If you believe the official data, the warehouse today contains about 6,700 thousand tons of ingots worth $ 368.5 billion. An interesting fact is that 98 percent of all metal is not owned by the United States, but belongs to other states. A small part of the gold reserve is in the reserves of France and England. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York City acts as the authorized custodian of the wealth of the world.
What is the threat of keeping most of the gold reserves in America?
The gold reserves of the countries of the world in 2014, which are stored in America, began to arouse strong public interest. This is due to the urge of Germany to return its supplies to their homeland. America is very interested in the title of custodian of the precious metal, because it plays the role of providing in a wide variety of financial transactions... The withdrawal of German gold from the reserve can shake not only the transportation of the latter to the home country will speak of a low level of trust, which is very unprofitable in conditions modern economy... Moreover, the public is convinced that if the need arises, the Fed will not be able to return all the gold reserves of the countries of the world in 2014, which it has in storage. This is due to the fact that when gold was transported to America, its distribution across countries was not organized. If the FRS goes bankrupt, the states will have the status of second-tier creditors, which excludes the possibility of withdrawing their assets from a financial institution on a priority basis. To put it simply, today it is quite problematic to determine which metal belongs to whom. Germany is initiating an audit of America's funds, and experts attribute this to the fact that the country's government is simply afraid of another world crisis, in which gold will be the only guarantor of stability.
Global gold production reached an all-time high in 2015, rising 1.8% to 3,211 tonnes. Much of this increase came from Mexico, where gold production rose 18% from 112 tonnes in 2014 to 133 tonnes last year. Production in Indonesia increased by 20% and in Kazakhstan by 29%.
Global production will plateau this year as project development budgets were slashed during the 3-year gold bear market. But given the beginning of the rise in gold prices, gold miners can confidently expect an increase in profitability.
Discover the 10 largest gold deposits in the world:
10. Boddington
The Boddington gold and copper deposit is located 120 km southeast of Perth, Western Australia and is the largest in the country. Gold mining began in 2009, and in 2011 Newmont received its first million ounces from Boddington. The gold mining company announced reserves at 19.5 million ounces and plans to spend $ 500 million to expand production.
9. Lihir
Gold was first explored on Aniolam Island in Papua New Guinea in 1982, and production began in 1997 at the Lihir mine, then operated by Rio Tinto. Australian company Newcrest bought the gold mine in 2010 and has been trying to contain rising operating costs ever since. The company recently announced that the expansion will be cheaper than previously thought, thanks largely to the use of new equipment that can handle sulfur more easily.
8. Peñasquinto
The Peñasquinto field is wholly owned by the Canadian mining company Goldcorp and is located in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. It is the largest quarry in Mexico and the fifth largest silver mine in the world. The project has been in operation since 2010 and produces zinc and lead, in addition to gold and silver. In 2007, Silver Wheaton signed an agreement with Goldcorp to acquire 25% of the total silver production over the life of the mine.
7. Carlin
We are talking about the brilliant Las Vegas or gold mining, gold and the state of Nevada are almost synonymous. The state accounts for 75% of the total gold production in the United States and, according to some estimates, 3% of all the yellow metal mined in history. Most of it is produced in the Carlin Trend ore region, which is the most abundant gold mine in the western hemisphere. The area is home to Newmont's historic Karlin project, which consists of three open pit mines and four underground mines. In May 2015, the company celebrated 50 years of successful gold mining at the mine, where, for the first time in North America, more than 1 million ounces were mined in one year.
6. Yanacocha
The Yanacocha project is located at the top of the Andean Continental Rift in northern Peru at an altitude of more than 4.5 km above sea level. It is the largest deposit in Latin America with an area of over 1,386 sq km. It consists of five open pit mines and has been producing gold since August 1993. Ownership of the mine is split between Newmont, Peruvian Minas Buenaventura, and the International Finance Corporation, controlled by the World Bank.
5. Pueblo Viejo
Pueblo Viejo is a joint venture between the world's largest gold miner Barrick Gold and Goldcorp, located in the green hills of the Dominican Republic more than 100 km north of the country's capital, Santo Domingo. Two Canadian companies gained control of the project in 2012 after the government of the Dominican Republic tried unsuccessfully to organize production. Production reached full capacity in 2014. In August 2015, Barrick signed a streaming agreement with Royal Gold, under which Royal provided $ 610 million, while Barrick pledged to provide 7.5% of all gold mined at the mine.
4. Cortez
Barrick Nevada has 4,000 employees, or about a third of the state's mining industry. Many of them work in the Cortes field, located in central Nevada. Cortez, one of Barrick's most promising mines, will receive $ 153 million from the company by 2020. These funds will help expand underground production capacity, allowing for an additional 300,000 ounces of production per year.
3. Goldstrike
Barrick has operated the Goldstrike field, also located in northern Nevada, since 1987. Goldstrike is the largest gold mine, employing 1,700 people. Over the past 20 years, company employees have developed a new method for processing ore in the field, known as total carbonaceous matter leach, which allows for additional processing of low-grade ores. The process will move from the testing phase to production implementation this year.
2. Grasberg
High in the humid mountains of the Indonesian province of Papua, where earthquakes are frequent, are the world's largest gold reserves and the second largest copper reserves. The field employs about 18,000 people, for whom an entire village called Tembagapura has been built with roads, houses, schools, a hospital and an airport. The deposit is 1.5 km wide and consists of an open pit and underground mines. The company is currently in talks with the Indonesian government to extend the contract, which will end in 2021.
1. Muruntau
The Muruntau deposit was discovered in the Kyzyl-Kum desert in 1958, and the gold mine began operations in 1967. Today it is the largest open pit in the world and the fifth deepest field (580 m). The project, which also contains huge reserves of turquoise and arsenic, sits at the pinnacle of what many geologists consider to be probably the largest gold reserve in the world, with estimates ranging from 2,500 tonnes to a staggering 5,300 tonnes of metal.
Gold has been considered a valuable metal since antiquity: even then, jewelry was made from it and coins were minted. The amount of gold a person has determined his status and position in society. Now the metal is used by the world community in the following areas:
- jewelry business - about half of the extracted mineral is spent on the production of products;
- capital of large banks is part of the reserves of serious financial institutions stored in ingots;
- industry - for electronics, dental prosthetics, equipment for space flights, etc .;
- investment - the constant rise in the cost of the material makes it a profitable direction.
The explored world reserves of gold today, according to preliminary data, amount to about 55 thousand tons. In reality, there is much more precious metal, but it is in a pulverized state in an insignificant concentration and is not yet amenable to extraction.
Depending on the process of formation and localization, primary (primary) deposits and secondary (alluvial) deposits are distinguished. Let's talk about this division in more detail.
Indigenous deposits
Such deposits are a consequence of the movement of magma during an epoch of volcanic activity. The gold content in magmatic fluid is much higher than in the layer of the earth's crust.
Breaking out, the magma began to gradually cool down, which triggered the process of mineral formation. Elements with a high refractory index were the first to crystallize, however, low-melting substances continued to move inside the formed tunnel. Gold is not the only element with a low melting threshold; the mass was a complex complex of chemical compounds. That is why, in the area of primary deposits, gold is rarely found in its pure form. More often than other compounds, where an impregnation of precious metal is noted, there are minerals and ores containing iron, copper, lead and zinc.
Magma moved and solidified unevenly, through cracks and faults in dense rock, the liquid part broke through into the upper layers of the crust. This is how the primary deposits were formed, which have the character of veins and stockworks, including the largest gold deposits of world importance. Since mountains are a consequence of volcanic activity, it is advisable to look for primary gold reserves in mountainous terrain.
Placers
Secondary gold reserves have arisen as a result of prolonged mechanical and chemical impact on primary deposits. Groundwater, wind, rock collapse and other factors contributed to the movement of gold particles from the mountains to the flat area.
The main merit in the appearance of placer deposits belongs to water: rains and mountain rivers carried pieces of rock down to the mountain foothills. Colliding with boulders and each other, igneous rock crushed, releasing grains of gold. And since it is inert with respect to other chemical elements, the particles settled in a pure form in the depressions of the river bottom.
Despite the common source of formation, there can be a large distance between the primary and alluvial reserves. Since the earth's surface has repeatedly changed over the millions of years of its existence, it is not always possible to track the migration of gold from the primary mine.
Placer deposits are smaller than the primary ones, but they are easier to develop, since they lie on the surface, and gold does not require an extraction procedure.
Data on gold mining in Russia and the world
The development of gold deposits on an industrial scale began at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Based on analytical calculations, it turns out that the lion's share of fossil extraction (about 85%) in the entire history of the human race falls on the period from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.
This jump is due to the fact that it has become technically possible to process gold-bearing ore containing impurities from primary deposits. Previously, gold was "washed" and dug only in its pure form from placers. According to statistics, no more than 7% of the world's precious metal reserves are mined in alluvial gold deposits, the rest of the deposits are extracted from the bedrock ore. Now the amount of precious metal in placers tends to decrease.
The world deposits of the valuable element are unevenly distributed, which is clearly seen from the diagram of the gold content in the bowels of states.
At the same time, the map of gold deposits in the world does not coincide with the distribution of countries' positions in terms of actual gold mining. The fact is that even the largest deposits are not always developed, the gold contained in the ore is only listed on the state balance sheet. For example, the largest gold deposit in Russia, Natalka, is currently not being mined.
If we talk about the reserves of precious metals in the Russian Federation, the richest are Yakutia, Eastern Siberia, Priamurye, the Far East.
The largest gold mines in Russia
The main active deposits of the Russian Federation belong to the primary type, their development has been carried out since the times of the USSR. This list includes the following mines:
- Berezovskoye primary field, which has been mined since the middle of the 18th century, and continues to this day.
- Vorontsov mine located in Sverdlovsk region... Its development began relatively recently - in 2000. It is noteworthy that it was here that the heap leaching of gold was first tested at sub-zero ambient temperatures.
- Sukhoi Log - large deposit in Eastern Siberia, characterized by a significant gold reserve, but with a low content of precious metal in the ore. Nowadays, there is no industrial development of the subsoil.
- The Natalka deposit is the richest mine, which is also not being developed now.
Russia is not in first place in terms of gold reserves, however, given the vast area of unexplored territories in the North, the situation may change in the future.
Top world gold mines
The increase in the rate of gold mining is associated with the improvement of the technology for extracting precious metals from the rock. So, in 2015, the world volume of pure gold production amounted to over 3200 tons - this figure is fixed as a historical maximum. The richest deposits look like this.
1. Muruntau
Today the Muruntau field is recognized as the largest and one of the most promising in the world. The quarry is located in the Kyzyl-Kum desert on the territory of Uzbekistan, the launch of gold mining dates back to 1967. The mine is state-owned and annually produces the highest production results - almost 2 times more than other large gold mining enterprises. According to experts, from 2500 to 5300 tons of valuable metal are deposited here.
2. Grasberg
Located in the seismologically active area of Indonesian Papua, the Grasberg field occupies an honorable second place on our list. The main owner of the mine is Freeport-McMoRan, with over 90% of the shares. The Indonesian government owns the remaining 9%.
The development of the deposit is carried out in the mountains, mainly by open-cut method; in 2017, the enterprise switches to underground work. Grasberg is a whole complex with its own infrastructure, road connections and city. Such a grandiose project arose as a result of the specific location and mass employment: the gold mining enterprise provided jobs for almost 20,000 people.
3. Pueblo Viejo
The Pueblo Viejo gold mine, located near the city of the same name in Dominican Republic... In terms of reserves and actual production, Pueblo Viejo is only slightly inferior to the previous field.
The owners of the gold mining enterprise have changed several times. The initial developer was the domestic company Rosario Dominicana, which began mining in 1975. The collapse of prices for precious metals in 1991 forced the closure of unprofitable production, and only 10 years later in 2001, the Canadian company Placer Dome won the tender for the extraction of the mineral. In turn, this company was bought out by the world-class corporation Barrick Gold, which now owns the mine together with Royal Gold on mutually beneficial terms.
4. Yanacocha
The largest gold mine in Latin America is located in the north of Peru in the Andes at an altitude of over 4 km. The metal has been mined by open pit mining since 1993; the enterprise has 5 open pits located nearby.
Now the ownership rights are distributed as follows: 51% of the shares are held by Newmont, 44% - by Minas Buenaventura, the remaining 5% are owned by the International Finance Corporation.
5. Goldstrike
The territory of the state of Nevada is a concentrate of gold ore, it is here that about 75% of gold in the United States is mined. Goldstrike has been owned by Barrick Gold Corporation since 1987 and is being open pit mining in conjunction with underground operations. In 2015, there was an increase in gold mining, which made it possible to overtake the main "competitors" Karlin and Cortez.
The increase in productivity is the result of the introduction of a new technology for the complete leaching of carbonaceous matter, which allows the complete extraction of gold from the ore.
6. Karlene Trend
One of the largest representatives of the gold deposits of the Carlin ore belt, Nevada in the United States. The complex consists of 4 mines and 3 open-pit mines; the huge mine has been operating at full capacity since 1964, producing at least 1 million ounces of pure metal per year.
The official long-term owner of the mine is Newmont.
7. Cortez
A promising field is located in the central part of the same state of Nevada. Like a close “neighbor”, the mine belongs to the global corporation from Canada, Barrick Gold. Now funds are being actively invested to expand gold mining in a closed way, by 2020 Barrick Gold must invest over $ 150 million in the development of the mine. At the same time, an increase in the extraction of precious metal by 300 thousand ounces has been announced annually.
8. Veladero
The quarry is located on the territory of two states, Argentina and Chile. The ownership of the enterprise is held by Canadian Barrick Gold, which annually receives over 1 million ounces of gold from Veladero. The primary deposit is located in the mountains, mining is carried out in difficult conditions, the mines border on glaciers. Here in 2007 a world record was set: for the first time a wind turbine was installed at an elevation of 1,280 m.
9. Lihir
The mine was discovered in 1982 in the mountains of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea... The company has been operating since 1997, since 2010 the property rights have been bought by the Australian company Newcrest. Refurbishment of the processing equipment has led to an increase in production, which is about 800 million ounces of pure metal per year.
10. Boddington
Complex deposit, which simultaneously mines gold and copper. This is the largest gold mine in Australia, it was recently opened, the first works were launched in 2009. However, by 2011, the gold production figure exceeded 1 million ounces, bringing considerable income to the owner, Newmont. The precious metal reserve is declared at 19.5 million ounces, so in the next 20 years Boddington will be included in the list of the largest gold deposits.
The top 10 gold deposits of global importance change annually, as the volume of actual production is taken into account. With a difference of several years, the lists also included such deposits: Peñasquinto (Mexico), Olympiada (Russia), Lagunas Norte (Peru), Super Pete (Australia). It is impossible to calculate the exact amount of the precious metal hidden in the depths, and the undiscovered territories of the ocean floor and permafrost are even more so.
The gold reserve of the countries of the world, or it is also customary to call it the gold reserve, is a reserve of physical gold that forms the state to support the economy and for trade with other powers. is at the disposal of the Ministry of Finance and central bank.
Gold reserves of the leading countries of the world
Even before the outbreak of the first world war, everyone highly developed countries tried to reinforce national currency gold equivalent. At present, the gold reserve plays the role of a certain resource for the period of the crisis, to stabilize the state currency. Also, sometimes gold is used for interstate trade.
To date, the United States, Germany and the European Union have the largest reserves of gold.
USA
The current US gold reserve was established during the Great Depression (1929-1939). But the very mining of the precious metal began back in the gold rush of 1828. In 1933, all states issued a decree requiring all legal and physical representatives to sell personal gold to the state at a fixed price of $ 20.66 per troy ounce.
In addition to its gold reserves, the United States also stores the reserves of other countries. It started before the outbreak of the Second World War. Many countries, fearing an invasion by German troops, transported their gold to the United States.
The precious metal is stored in the United States at several sites:
- Fort Knox, Kentucky - 4500 tons.
- American Mint, Denver - 1400 tons.
- US Military Academy - 1700 tons.
- Federal Bank, Manhattan - 400 tons.
Control over the gold reserves of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) belongs to the United States precisely because a significant reserve is located on their territory.
Fort Knox
European Union
The total stock of all Eurozone countries at the beginning of 2015 is 10.784 tons. This indicator makes the Euro the richest currency in the world.
Germany
After the devastation caused by the Second World War, Germany began to rebuild its economy and, later, its gold reserve. And already in 1968 the stock was 4000 tons.
All this gold reserve was bought on world stock exchanges, London, New York and was stored there. Today, 45% of the total reserve is held by the United States, 13% in London, 11% in France, and only 31% in Germany itself. For keeping their savings in England, Germany pays 500 thousand euros annually.
China
Beginning in 2009, China stopped publishing data on its gold reserves. At the same time, China is actively buying gold and. So, as of 2013, the PRC imported 622 tons of gold, becoming the largest buyer of precious metals in the world.
And in 2013, a total of 430 tons of gold were mined.
France
Since other European countries in the postwar period, France began to actively build up the gold reserve, and already in 1965 it increased to 4,400 tons. In addition, France was constantly exchanging dollar reserves for gold, and was one of the few countries that refused to keep their reserves in the United States.
Russia
After the government of Boris Yeltsin sold off the last gold in 1992, a total of 290 tons remained in the country.
But since 1999, gold production in Russia has increased several times and already in 2013 Russia occupied the 2nd position in the world in terms of production, second only to China. Also, the current government is actively buying gold, and in 2014 purchased 171 tons. And in 2015, Russia already occupied the 6th position in the world ranking with a total gold reserve of 1187.5 tons.
The ranking of the central banks with the largest gold reserves has remained largely unchanged over the past few years. The first place is occupied by the United States. The USA has more than 8,000 tons of gold - almost the same amount is held in the vaults of the following three countries combined. According to the consulting company GFMS (Gold Fields Mineral Services), over the past six years, the largest buyer of gold has been central bank RF; in 2017, Russia increased its reserves by 224 tons and, overtaking China, took the fifth place.
Not all central banks are net buyers. Venezuela remains the leader in gold sales for the second year in a row; last year, Caracas sold 25 tons of the precious metal to pay off debts.
However, the sector's gross sales revenue last year decreased by 55% and reached the most low level since 2014, indicating that central banks are keen to preserve their gold holdings.
2018 could be the year of increased demand for gold among central banks. According to the World Gold Council, first-quarter demand grew 42% year-on-year, with purchases of 116.5 tonnes - the last time the first quarter was so strong in 2014. ... As global debt continues to rise, central banks and individual investors will try to conserve their gold reserves, as gold sells well in times of economic downturn and geopolitical uncertainty.
India
560.3 tons
Foreign reserves: 5.5%
The Reserve Bank of India is expected to have one of the largest gold vaults in the world. The South Asian state, home to 1.25 billion people, is the second largest consumer of the precious metal and remains one of the most reliable guarantors of global demand.
The wedding and festival season in India, which runs from October to December, has historically been of immense importance to the gold trade.
Netherlands
612.5 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 68.2%
The Dutch central bank intends to move its gold reserves from the capital to the suburbs of Amsterdam, citing the fact that the current location of the vaults is too costly from a security point of view. Such a move seems strange in light of the fact that the bank recently repatriated most of its gold from the United States.
Japan
765.2 tons
International reserves: 2.5%
Japan is the third largest economy in the world and also the eighth largest holder of the yellow metal. The central bank of Japan has been steadfastly adhering to the quantitative easing program: in January 2016 it reduced interest rates to a level below zero, due to which the demand for gold has increased worldwide.
Switzerland
1040 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 5.3%
On a per capita basis, Switzerland has the world's largest gold reserves.
During World War II, the neutral country became the center of the gold trade in Europe, making deals on both sides of the front: both with the Nazis and with members of the anti-Hitler coalition. Today the Swiss mainly trade in gold with Hong Kong and China.
China
1842.6 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 2.4%
Summer 2015 National Bank China for the first time since 2009 released information on monthly gold purchases. Although China ranks sixth, gold accounts for only a small fraction of its total reserves - just 2.4% (the figure is up slightly from 2.2% in 2016).
Russia
1909.8 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 17.6%
The central bank of Russia has remained the largest buyer of gold for the past six years, and at the beginning of this year, Russia overtook China, ranking fifth in terms of reserves.
In 2017, Russia acquired 224 tonnes of bullion in an attempt to dampen the influence of the US dollar, as relations with the West cooled after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in mid-2014. To find cash for these purchases, Russia was forced to sell most of the American Treasuries.
France
2436 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 63.9%
Over the past few years, the Central Bank of France has hardly sold gold. Marine Le Pen, a member of the French National Assembly and leader of the far-right National Front, is demanding not only to freeze gold sales, but also to repatriate all stocks from foreign storage facilities.
Italy
2,451.8 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 67.9%
Italy has also managed to maintain the size of its reserves in recent years; the country has support in the person of the President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. In 2013, when asked by a reporter about the weight of gold in the central bank's portfolio, the ex-head of the Bank of Italy replied that the yellow metal is a "stronghold of security" and also "protects fairly well against dollar fluctuations."
Germany
3371 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 70.6%
Germany completed a four-year repatriation of its gold reserves last year, returning 674 tons of gold from the Bank of France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
After reaching an all-time high, the demand for gold fell last year, however, since the onset of the global financial crisis investment in gold in a European country is growing steadily.
USA
8,133.5 tons
INTERNATIONAL reserves: 75.2%
The United States has the largest official gold reserves in the world; there is as much gold in America as in the previous three countries on the list. The state also has the largest foreign reserves (over 75%).
It is known that most of the US gold is held in Fort Knox, Kentucky, with the remainder being distributed between the mints in Philadelphia and Denver, as well as the Assay Office in San Francisco and the West Point Silver Vault.