The largest country in the world in terms of gold reserves.. Saudi Arabia is first in the Arab world

The United States topped the list of the world’s largest countries in terms of gold reserves with a total of 8,133.46 tons, followed by Germany and Italy, according to World Gold Council data as of December 31, 2023.

The yellow metal is considered an essential element in the reserves of central banks because of its properties related to safety and liquidity, and it is among the main investment goals of those banks that own a huge amount of it, representing about a fifth of the gold that has been extracted throughout history.

Central banks’ annual net purchases of gold last year amounted to 1,037 tons, only about 45 tons less than the all-time highs recorded in 2022.

The People’s Bank of China alone bought 225 tons of the precious metal in 2023, and its current holdings stand at 2,235 tons, representing about 4% of its international reserves.

This is as central banks seek to diversify their reserves away from the dollar, which has historically constituted the largest portion of their reserves, and of course gold is the biggest beneficiary of that step.

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Last year, gold prices rose by about 13% and touched their highest levels ever in December due to economic and political uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, as well as expectations of the Federal Reserve moving towards reducing interest rates.

Saudi Arabia’s yellow metal reserves recorded 323.07 tons, Kuwait’s 78.97 tons and the UAE’s 73.63 tons.

Source: Figures – World Gold Council