Year over year, the value of imported gold increased by 12.3% from 2019 to 2020.
The world’s 5 biggest importers of gold (United Kingdom Switzerland, United States, Turkey, India) bought over two-thirds (68.8%) of the global total for the shiny precious metal.
From a continental perspective, European countries bought the highest dollar amount of imported gold during 2020 with purchases valued at $202 billion or 53.9% of the global total. In second place were Asian importers at 32% while 11.6% of international gold purchases were delivered to importers in North America.
Tinier percentages arrived in Oceania (1.7%), Africa (0.7%) and Latin America (0.04%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for gold is 7108.
Gold Imports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2020.
- United Kingdom: US$88.3 billion (23.5% of total imported gold)
- Switzerland: $87.9 billion (23.4%)
- United States: $34.7 billion (9.2%)
- Turkey: $25.2 billion (6.7%)
- India: $21.9 billion (5.8%)
- Hong Kong: $18.9 billion (5%)
- Singapore: $16.6 billion (4.4%)
- China: $11.4 billion (3%)
- United Arab Emirates: $10.1 billion (2.7%)
- Italy: $9.7 billion (2.6%)
- Canada: $8.7 billion (2.3%)
- Germany: $8.2 billion (2.2%)
- Australia: $6.3 billion (1.7%)
- Thailand: $5.1 billion (1.3%)
- Austria: $2.5 billion (0.7%)
The listed 15 countries purchased 94.8% of all gold imported in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for gold since 2019 were: United States (up 258.1%), Austria (up 193.1%), Turkey (up 123.5%) and Italy (up 86.4%).
Those countries that posted declines in their imported gold purchases were led by: China (down -74%), United Arab Emirates (down -68.7%), India (down -29.7%) and Thailand (down -28.1%).
For a comprehensive listing of 100 key international markets for gold, please see the section Searchable List of Gold Importing Countries below.
UK
Gold Imports into United Kingdom
United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$86.6 billion in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the UK imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2020.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Russia: US$17 billion (up 225.2% from 2019)
- Hong Kong: $12.5 billion (up 473.3%)
- United States: $12.1 billion (up 8.8%)
- Canada: $11.2 billion (up 2.1%)
- Australia: $8.2 billion (down -3.1%)
- Switzerland: $7.6 billion (down -59.4%)
- Uzbekistan: $6 billion (up 156.3%)
- South Africa: $3.4 billion (down -12.3%)
- Japan: $1.8 billion (up 0.9%)
- Turkey: $1.5 billion (up 34%)
- Mexico: $1.4 billion (up 19.4%)
- Germany: $1.3 billion (up 39.2%)
- Singapore: $1.2 billion (up 140.3%)
- Kyrgyzstan: $812.1 million (up 2%)
- Brazil: $807.5 million (up 8%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 98.1% of gold imported by United Kingdom in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to United Kingdom from 2019 to 2020 were: Hong Kong (up 473.3%), Russia (up 225.2%), Uzbekistan (up 156.3%) and Singapore (up 140.3%).
Three countries experienced declines in the value of their gold supplied to UK importers namely Switzerland (down -59.4%), South Africa (down -12.3%) and Australia (down -3.1%).
Overall, the value of United Kingdom’s imported gold rose by an average 24.7% from all supplying countries since 2019 when gold purchased on international markets cost $70.8 billion.
Switzerland
Gold Imports into Switzerland
Switzerland’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$68.8 billion in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Switzerland imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2020.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- United Kingdom: US$10.6 billion (up 71.3% from 2019)
- Hong Kong: $10.4 billion (up 522.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $8 billion (up 15.9%)
- Thailand: $7.2 billion (up 60.4%)
- United States: $6.6 billion (up 106.3%)
- Italy: $5.1 billion (up 75.7%)
- Germany: $3.2 billion (up 15.9%)
- Burkina Faso: $3.2 billion (up 88.1%)
- Ghana: $3 billion (up 24.9%)
- France: $2.8 billion (up 8.2%)
- Indonesia: $2.2 billion (up 996.3%)
- South Africa: $1.7 billion (down -21.7%)
- Australia: $1.6 billion (up 48.2%)
- Peru: $1.6 billion (down -22.9%)
- Mali: $1.5 billion (up 17.9%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 78.2% of gold imported by Switzerland in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to Switzerland from 2019 to 2020 were: Indonesia (up 996.3%), Hong Kong (up 522.1%), United States (up 106.3%) and Burkina Faso (up 88.1%).
Two top countries experienced declines in the value of their gold supplied to Swiss importers namely Peru (down -22.9%) and South Africa (down -21.7%).
Overall, the value of Switzerland’s imported gold expanded by an average 44.9% from all supplying countries since 2019 when gold purchased on international markets cost $60.7 billion.
USA
Gold Imports into the United States of America
America’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$34 billion in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the United States imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2020.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Switzerland: US$15.4 billion (up 1,170% from 2019)
- Canada: $3.4 billion (up 36%)
- Mexico: $3 billion (up 2.2%)
- Singapore: $2.9 billion (up 41,555%)
- Australia: $2.7 billion (up 4,708%)
- Hong Kong: $1.6 billion (up 4,882,118%)
- South Africa: $1.5 billion (up 975.3%)
- Colombia: $1.4 billion (up 159.1%)
- Nicaragua: $571.9 million (up 21.3%)
- United Kingdom: $424.2 million (up 10,727%)
- Argentina: $410.8 million (up 160.4%)
- Ecuador: $230.9 million (up 42%)
- Peru: $201.4 million (down -57.3%)
- Brazil: $199.1 million (up 279.5%)
- Suriname: $129.9 million (up 11,034%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 88.2% of gold imported by United States in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to the US from 2019 to 2020 were: Hong Kong (up 4,882,118%), Singapore (up 41,555%), Suriname (up 11,034%) and United Kingdom (up 10,727%).
The lone decline in the value of gold supplied to American importers the 57.3% drop year over year for Peru.
Overall, the value of America’s imported gold grew by an average 258.1% from all supplying countries since 2019 when gold purchased on international markets cost $9.7 billion.
Turkey
Gold Imports into Turkey
Turkey’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$24.2 billion in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Turkey imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2020.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Iraq: US$7.9 billion (up 230.7% from 2019)
- Switzerland: $6.1 billion (up 242.4%)
- United Arab Emirates: $5.1 billion (up 44.1%)
- Libya: $1.3 billion (up 498%)
- Germany: $926.4 million (down -3%)
- United Kingdom: $672.2 million (up 22.5%)
- Belgium: $443.4 million (up 64.8%)
- Russia: $408.3 million (up 737.8%)
- Peru: $224.7 million (up 2392.4%)
- Ghana: $207.4 million (up 22204.5%)
- Hong Kong: $198.1 million (up 18.4%)
- Australia: $189.3 million (down -37.1%)
- Guinea: $156.7 million (up 214545.2%)
- Bolivia: $126.4 million (no 2019 data)
- Italy: $121.3 million (up 135.9%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 96.0% of gold imported by Turkey in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to Turkey from 2019 to 2020 were: Guinea (up 214,545%), Ghana (up 22,205%), Peru (up 2,392%) and Russia (up 737.8%).
Two key countries experienced declines in the value of their gold supplied to Turkish importers namely Australia (down -37.1%) and Germany (down -3%).
Overall, the value of Turkey’s imported gold increased by an average 123.5% from all supplying countries since 2019 when gold purchased on international markets cost $11.3 billion.
Searchable List of Gold Importing Countries in 2020
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most column showcases the percentage change in value of imported gold from 2016 to 2020. A value of 0% in that column means that 2019 data was unavailable for the corresponding country.
| Rank | Importer | Gold Imports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United Kingdom | $88,251,083,000 | +24.7% |
| 2. | Switzerland | $87,921,350,000 | +44.9% |
| 3. | United States | $34,686,628,000 | +258.1% |
| 4. | Turkey | $25,183,792,000 | +123.5% |
| 5. | India | $21,922,212,000 | -29.7% |
| 6. | Hong Kong | $18,877,648,000 | +35.2% |
| 7. | Singapore | $16,636,743,000 | +64.8% |
| 8. | China | $11,416,975,000 | -74% |
| 9. | United Arab Emirates | $10,050,341,000 | -68.7% |
| 10. | Italy | $9,712,628,000 | +86.4% |
| 11. | Canada | $8,709,007,000 | +52.8% |
| 12. | Germany | $8,229,281,000 | +86.3% |
| 13. | Australia | $6,342,068,000 | +34.7% |
| 14. | Thailand | $5,050,804,000 | -28.1% |
| 15. | Austria | $2,474,738,000 | +193.1% |
| 16. | Malaysia | $2,252,897,000 | -6.4% |
| 17. | Taiwan | $1,978,985,000 | +58.2% |
| 18. | Indonesia | $1,901,743,000 | +7.5% |
| 19. | Uganda | $1,841,915,000 | +39.8% |
| 20. | France | $1,232,869,000 | +13.5% |
| 21. | Saudi Arabia | $1,167,507,000 | -49.9% |
| 22. | Belarus | $1,160,208,000 | 0% |
| 23. | Cambodia | $1,045,102,000 | +1,028% |
| 24. | South Korea | $905,994,000 | +2.5% |
| 25. | Belgium | $768,822,000 | -16.2% |
| 26. | South Africa | $443,031,000 | +34.8% |
| 27. | Netherlands | $414,739,000 | +187.2% |
| 28. | Kazakhstan | $333,932,000 | +20.8% |
| 29. | Czech Republic | $326,325,000 | +61% |
| 30. | Japan | $269,163,000 | +117% |
| 31. | Spain | $266,054,000 | +7.1% |
| 32. | Qatar | $224,635,000 | -35.7% |
| 33. | Poland | $191,947,000 | +46.2% |
| 34. | Vietnam | $181,789,000 | +12.4% |
| 35. | Lebanon | $156,595,000 | -67.6% |
| 36. | Egypt | $135,975,000 | +24% |
| 37. | Estonia | $127,418,000 | +104.6% |
| 38. | New Zealand | $126,258,000 | +199% |
| 39. | Slovenia | $110,281,000 | +244.3% |
| 40. | Luxembourg | $101,021,000 | +37.9% |
| 41. | Slovakia | $96,656,000 | -9.4% |
| 42. | Ukraine | $90,113,000 | +316% |
| 43. | Philippines | $88,161,000 | -15.3% |
| 44. | Mexico | $81,215,000 | -35.5% |
| 45. | Sweden | $77,736,000 | +74.4% |
| 46. | Jordan | $75,384,000 | -12.6% |
| 47. | Finland | $71,681,000 | +185.9% |
| 48. | Dominican Republic | $66,088,000 | -26.4% |
| 49. | Portugal | $59,185,000 | +30% |
| 50. | Cayman Islands | $59,068,000 | -65.8% |
| 51. | Hungary | $56,000,000 | +56.5% |
| 52. | Ireland | $44,272,000 | -43.3% |
| 53. | Croatia | $35,637,000 | +74.5% |
| 54. | Serbia | $33,951,000 | +300.2% |
| 55. | Tunisia | $30,512,000 | +53.6% |
| 56. | Kuwait | $27,741,000 | -92.5% |
| 57. | Nepal | $27,579,000 | -88.2% |
| 58. | Bangladesh | $26,942,000 | -96.9% |
| 59. | Uzbekistan | $25,287,000 | #DIV/0! |
| 60. | Bulgaria | $24,629,000 | +94.5% |
| 61. | Armenia | $24,225,000 | -79.6% |
| 62. | Russia | $23,919,000 | +51.3% |
| 63. | Peru | $22,691,000 | +1,246% |
| 64. | Denmark | $19,810,000 | +41.6% |
| 65. | Israel | $16,468,000 | +6.9% |
| 66. | Macao | $11,807,000 | +22.1% |
| 67. | Lithuania | $11,611,000 | +87.4% |
| 68. | Algeria | $11,448,000 | +817.3% |
| 69. | Mauritius | $9,974,000 | -39.5% |
| 70. | Bahrain | $8,911,000 | -95.9% |
| 71. | Laos | $8,759,000 | +100.5% |
| 72. | Oman | $8,054,000 | -99% |
| 73. | Norway | $7,200,000 | +20.9% |
| 74. | Pakistan | $6,756,000 | -53.9% |
| 75. | Greece | $6,222,000 | -33.5% |
| 76. | Cyprus | $4,562,000 | +130.3% |
| 77. | Malta | $4,473,000 | +0.9% |
| 78. | Brazil | $4,128,000 | -61% |
| 79. | Andorra | $3,789,000 | +53.3% |
| 80. | Sri Lanka | $1,788,000 | -99.7% |
| 81. | Eswatini | $1,246,000 | +124,500% |
| 82. | Costa Rica | $1,012,000 | -6.7% |
| 83. | Guatemala | $975,000 | -49.9% |
| 84. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $953,000 | +6707.1% |
| 85. | Libya | $743,000 | -68% |
| 86. | Iceland | $665,000 | -27.5% |
| 87. | Namibia | $607,000 | +30,250% |
| 88. | Trinidad/Tobago | $517,000 | -75.8% |
| 89. | Guinea | $513,000 | -98.6% |
| 90. | Bhutan | $499,000 | +148.3% |
| 91. | Senegal | $408,000 | -72.5% |
| 92. | Bolivia | $320,000 | -37.1% |
| 93. | Kyrgyzstan | $287,000 | +5.9% |
| 94. | Seychelles | $246,000 | +12,200% |
| 95. | Panama | $224,000 | -91.1% |
| 96. | Iran | $224,000 | -99.8% |
| 97. | Gibraltar | $208,000 | +890.5% |
| 98. | French Polynesia | $113,000 | -65.4% |
| 99. | Ecuador | $88,000 | +214.3% |
| 100. | New Caledonia | $85,000 | +32.8% |
See also Gold Exports by Country, Switzerland’s Top Trading Partners and United Kingdom’s Top 10 Imports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on May 31, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 31, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 31, 2021
Wikipedia, Gold. Accessed on May 31, 2021
