Gold Exports by Country

January 19, 2018 by

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Global sales from gold exports by country in 2016 amounted to US$324.6 billion.

Overall, the value of gold exports were down by an average -15.4% for all exporting countries since 2012 when gold shipments were valued at $383.5 billion. However, the value of global gold exports appreciated by 5.8% from 2015 to 20165.

Among continents, Asian countries accounted for the highest dollars worth of gold exports during 2016 with shipments amounting to $120.8 billion or 37.2% of the worldwide total. European exporters generated 35.5% worth of gold exports, while 10.8% was shipped from North America. Latin America (excluding Mexico) and Caribbean gold suppliers came in at 6.5%, followed by Africa and Oceania both at 4.9%.

The 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for unwrought or semi-manufactured gold is 7108.

Gold Exports by Country

Countries

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2016:

  1. Switzerland: US$82.3 billion (25.3% of total gold exports)
  2. Hong Kong: $54.1 billion (16.7%)
  3. United Arab Emirates: $25.4 billion (7.8%)
  4. United States: $17.7 billion (5.4%)
  5. United Kingdom: $15.7 billion (4.8%)
  6. Australia: $13.5 billion (4.1%)
  7. Canada: $12.5 billion (3.8%)
  8. Turkey: $8.2 billion (2.5%)
  9. Japan: $7.3 billion (2.3%)
  10. Thailand: $7.3 billion (2.2%)
  11. Peru: $6.4 billion (2%)
  12. Germany: $5.2 billion (1.6%)
  13. Mexico: $4.9 billion (1.5%)
  14. India: $4.3 billion (1.3%)
  15. Ghana: $3.7 billion (1.2%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 82.7% of all gold exports in 2016.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing gold exporters since 2012 were: India (up 12,612%), United Kingdom (up 580.1%), Japan (up 17.1%), Thailand (up 9.4%) and Hong Kong (up 8.3%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported gold sales were led by: United States (down -48%), Ghana (down -47.2%), Germany (down -45.3%), Mexico (down -38.8%) and Turkey (down -38.2%).

Advantages

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for gold during 2016. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s gold exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.

  1. Hong Kong: US$24.5 billion (net export surplus up 971.9% since 2012)
  2. United Arab Emirates: $13.7 billion (down -282.7%)
  3. Australia: $9.1 billion (down -10.1%)
  4. Japan: $7.2 billion (up 25.5%)
  5. Canada: $6.9 billion (up 24.2%)
  6. Peru: $6.4 billion (down -34.2%)
  7. Mexico: $4.7 billion (down -39.5%)
  8. Ghana: $3.7 billion (down -47.3%)
  9. South Africa: $3.4 billion (down -60.3%)
  10. Venezuela: $2.9 billion (reversing a -$1,000 deficit in 2012)
  11. Brazil: $2.9 billion (up 8.6%)
  12. Uzbekistan: $2.9 billion (up 334.7%)
  13. Egypt: $2.6 billion (up 111.2%)
  14. Argentina: $2 billion (down -9.3%)
  15. Papua New Guinea: $2 billion (up 16,895%)

Hong Kong has the highest surplus in the international trade of gold, even though its balance in 2016 has dramatically shrunk since 2011. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Hong Kong’s strong competitive advantage in the international trade of this specific commodity.

Opportunities

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for gold during 2016. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s gold import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

  1. United Kingdom: -US$42.2 billion (net export deficit up 1,203% since 2012)
  2. India: -$18.6 billion (down -64.6%)
  3. Malaysia: -$2.1 billion (down -5.2%)
  4. Saudi Arabia: -$1.4 billion (down -25.8%)
  5. Iran: -$1.3 billion (down -77.8%)
  6. Austria: -$897.2 million (down -38.5%)
  7. Taiwan: -$888.5 million (down -2.5%)
  8. Italy: -$669.4 million (down -125%)
  9. Switzerland: -$608.9 million (down -92.3%)
  10. Oman: -$541.8 million (up 429.6%)
  11. Jordan: -$405.8 million (down -512.6%)
  12. Sri Lanka: -$374.9 million (up 146.1%)
  13. Kuwait: -$306.5 million (down -23.2%)
  14. Germany: -$306.5 million (down -110%)
  15. Lebanon: -$293.2 million (down -239.9%)

United Kingdom incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of gold. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights the UK’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for gold-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand among Indian consumers and businesses.

Companies

Gold Exporting Companies

Listed below are the world’s largest gold companies by market capitalization (which shifts often and dramatically due to the fact that many of these are stock companies). Shown within parentheses is the country where the corporation is headquartered.

  • Barrick Gold (Canada)
  • Newmont Mining (United States)
  • Goldcorp (Canada)
  • Polyus Gold International (United Kingdom)
  • AngloGold Ashanti (South Africa)
  • Newcrest Mining (Australia)
  • Kinross Gold (Canada)
  • Gold Fields Ltd (South Africa)
  • Agnico-Eagle Mines (Canada)
  • Buenaventura (Peru)
  • Harmony Gold (South Africa)
  • Randgold Resources (Jersey)
  • Yamana Gold (Canada)


 

Searchable List of Gold Exporting Countries

You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.

RankExporter2016 Gold Exports% World Total
1.SwitzerlandUS$82.3 billion25.3%
2.Hong Kong$54.1 billion16.7%
3.United Arab Emirates$25.4 billion7.8%
4.United States$17.7 billion5.4%
5.United Kingdom$15.7 billion4.8%
6.Australia$13.5 billion4.1%
7.Canada$12.5 billion3.8%
8.Turkey$8.2 billion2.5%
9.Japan$7.3 billion2.3%
10.Thailand$7.3 billion2.2%
11.Peru$6.4 billion2%
12.Germany$5.2 billion1.6%
13.Mexico$4.9 billion1.5%
14.India$4.3 billion1.3%
15.Ghana$3.7 billion1.2%
16.South Africa$3.4 billion1.1%
17.Italy$3 billion0.9%
18.Venezuela$2.9 billion0.9%
19.Brazil$2.9 billion0.9%
20.Uzbekistan$2.9 billion0.9%
21.Egypt$2.6 billion0.8%
22.Argentina$2 billion0.6%
23.Singapore$2 billion0.6%
24.Papua New Guinea$2 billion0.6%
25.Belgium$1.7 billion0.5%
26.Dominican Republic$1.6 billion0.5%
27.Burkina Faso$1.6 billion0.5%
28.Colombia$1.5 billion0.5%
29.Indonesia$1.4 billion0.4%
30.Spain$1.4 billion0.4%
31.Netherlands$1.2 billion0.4%
32.South Korea$1.2 billion0.4%
33.France$1 billion0.3%
34.Russia$907.6 million0.3%
35.Tanzania$890.5 million0.3%
36.Zimbabwe$850.2 million0.3%
37.Chile$827.7 million0.3%
38.Mongolia$774.7 million0.2%
39.Iraq$768.6 million0.2%
40.Bolivia$742.8 million0.2%
41.Saudi Arabia$731.3 million0.2%
42.Cambodia$715.5 million0.2%
43.Lebanon$702 million0.2%
44.Kyrgyzstan$701.6 million0.2%
45.Mali$668.5 million0.2%
46.Sweden$648.6 million0.2%
47.Philippines$641.7 million0.2%
48.Austria$619.4 million0.2%
49.Taiwan$587.4 million0.2%
50.Suriname$585.6 million0.2%
51.Côte d'Ivoire$502.1 million0.2%
52.Guinea$467.9 million0.1%
53.Guyana$466.5 million0.1%
54.Nicaragua$409.9 million0.1%
55.Senegal$329.1 million0.1%
56.Poland$309.3 million0.1%
57.New Zealand$279.4 million0.1%
58.Ecuador$261.9 million0.08%
59.Finland$259.7 million0.08%
60.Yemen$255.8 million0.08%
61.Mauritania$235.9 million0.07%
62.Portugal$217.6 million0.07%
63.Laos$152 million0.05%
64.Luxembourg$143.2 million0.04%
65.Armenia$131.2 million0.04%
66.Ethiopia$128.8 million0.04%
67.Czech Republic$121.1 million0.04%
68.Morocco$116.7 million0.04%
69.Liberia$110.2 million0.03%
70.Malaysia$98 million0.03%
71.Israel$95 million0.03%
72.Honduras$94.6 million0.03%
73.Slovakia$93.5 million0.03%
74.Norway$87.5 million0.03%
75.Azerbaijan$84.5 million0.03%
76.Georgia$81.1 million0.02%
77.Rwanda$79.7 million0.02%
78.Tajikistan$74.3 million0.02%
79.Cayman Islands$69.8 million0.02%
80.Libya$68.4 million0.02%
81.Jordan$62.2 million0.02%
82.Paraguay$60.8 million0.02%
83.Fiji$59.7 million0.02%
84.Panama$58.1 million0.02%
85.Hungary$49.3 million0.02%
86.Estonia$48 million0.01%
87.Uruguay$40.7 million0.01%
88.Latvia$39.7 million0.01%
89.Gabon$38.9 million0.012%
90.Botswana$38.7 million0.012%
91.Niger$35.7 million0.011%
92.Croatia$34.7 million0.011%
93.Slovenia$33 million0.010%
94.Greece$26 million0.008%
95.Togo$24.7 million0.008%
96.Andorra$21 million0.006%
97.Kuwait$20.5 million0.006%
98.Serbia$19 million0.006%
99.Benin$18 million0.006%
100.Costa Rica$17.8 million0.005%
101.Oman$17.1 million0.005%
102.Madagascar$16.1 million0.005%
103.Burundi$15.4 million0.005%
104.Afghanistan$15.2 million0.005%
105.Bulgaria$15.1 million0.005%
106.Kazakhstan$14.2 million0.004%
107.Denmark$13.5 million0.004%
108.Cyprus$13.2 million0.004%
109.Ireland$12.6 million0.004%
110.Swaziland$10.9 million0.003%
111.British Virgin Is.$4.2 million0.0013%
112.Nigeria$4.1 million0.0013%
113.Democratic Rep. Congo$3.6 million0.0011%
114.Ukraine$2.7 million0.0008%
115.Vietnam$2.4 million0.0007%
116.Eritrea$2.3 million0.0007%
117.Solomon Islands$2.3 million0.0007%
118.Uganda$1.6 million0.0005%
119.Mozambique$1.4 million0.0004%
120.Mauritius$1.1 million0.0003%
121.Lithuania$996,0000.0003%
122.Central African Rep.$955,0000.0003%
123.Algeria$871,0000.0003%
124.Guinea-Bissau$846,0000.0003%
125.Malta$816,0000.0003%
126.Albania$816,0000.0003%
127.Aruba$800,0000.0002%
128.Congo$793,0000.0002%
129.Barbados$762,0000.0002%
130.Seychelles$485,0000.0001%
131.Bosnia/Herzegovina$391,0000.0001%
132.Moldova$386,0000.0001%
133.Kenya$381,0000.0001%
134.Jamaica$346,0000.0001%
135.Bangladesh$312,0000.0001%
136.Bahamas$225,0000.0001%
137.North Korea$214,0000.0001%
138.Cameroon$203,0000.0001%
139.Brunei Darussalam$201,0000.0001%
140.Somalia$191,0000.0001%
141.Zambia$87,0000.00003%
142.Macedonia$81,0000.00002%
143.New Caledonia$50,0000.00002%
144.El Salvador$46,0000.00001%
145.Trinida/Tobago$28,0000.00001%
146.Belize$7,0000.000002%
147.French Polynesia$6,0000.000002%
148.Saint Kitts/Nevis$6,0000.000002%
149.Dominica$5,0000.000002%
150.Syrian Arab Republic$5,0000.000002%
151.Grenada$4,0000.000001%
152.Bahrain$2,0000.000001%
153.Tunisia$1,0000.0000003%

See also Silver Exports by Country, Platinum Exports by Country and Palladium Exports by Country

Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on May 17, 2017

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on May 17, 2017

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 17, 2017

Wikipedia, Largest gold companies. Accessed on May 17, 2017

Forbes 2015 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 10, 2015







Filed Under: Precious metals, Top products