Year over year, the value of globally imported gold grew by 3.6% compared to $554.6 billion in 2023.
The world’s 5 biggest importers of gold in 2024 were Switzerland, mainland China, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and India. Collectively, that cohort of major gold buyers bought well over two-thirds (70%) of the world total for the shiny precious metal.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries bought the highest dollar amount of imported gold during 2024 with purchases valued at $332.4 billion or 57.9% of the global total.
In second place were importers located in Europe at 36.2% of overall imported gold purchases. Imports to the 27-member European Union represents a much lower percentage (4.3%) mainly because leading gold importers Switzerland and the United Kingdom are not EU members.
Another 4.5% of international gold purchases was delivered to importers in North America.
Tinier percentages arrived in Oceania (1.1%) led by Australia, Africa (0.2%), and Latin America (0.1%) 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
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2024.
- Switzerland: US$105.2 billion (18.3% of total gold imports)
- mainland China: $102.9 billion (17.9%)
- United Kingdom: $77.2 billion (13.4%)
- Hong Kong: $65.5 billion (11.4%)
- India: $51.8 billion (9%)
- United Arab Emirates: $24.8 billion (4.3%)
- Singapore: $17.6 billion (3.1%)
- Türkiye: $17.1 billion (3%)
- United States: $15.9 billion (2.8%)
- Thailand: $15.4 billion (2.7%)
- Italy: $10.3 billion (1.8%)
- Canada: $9.6 billion (1.7%)
- Saudi Arabia: $8.2 billion (1.4%)
- Australia: $6.5 billion (1.1%)
- Germany: $6.1 billion (1.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 92.9% of all gold imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for gold since 2023 were: Thailand (up 93.8%), Germany (up 71.5%), United Kingdom (up 60.6%) and Italy (up 54.7%).
A pair of major competitors posted declines in their imported gold purchases, namely the United Arab Emirates (down -67.7% from 2023) and Türkiye (down -43%).
For a comprehensive listing of 100 key international markets for gold, please see the section below.
Searchable List of Gold Importing Countries in 2024
Presented in the following database are the 100 most valuable importers of gold during 2024 sorted by total dollar value of gold imports during 2024.
| Rank | Importer | Gold Imports | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Switzerland | $105,193,858,000 | +2.8% |
| 2. | mainland China | $102,861,254,000 | +11.6% |
| 3. | United Kingdom | $77,170,435,000 | +60.6% |
| 4. | Hong Kong | $65,452,651,000 | +9.4% |
| 5. | India | $51,781,603,000 | +21.4% |
| 6. | United Arab Emirates | $24,783,391,000 | -67.7% |
| 7. | Singapore | $17,633,169,000 | +40.4% |
| 8. | Türkiye | $17,102,291,000 | -43% |
| 9. | United States | $15,949,710,000 | +5.6% |
| 10. | Thailand | $15,429,516,000 | +93.8% |
| 11. | Italy | $10,348,188,000 | +54.7% |
| 12. | Canada | $9,603,739,000 | +0.8% |
| 13. | Saudi Arabia | $8,169,553,000 | +11.8% |
| 14. | Australia | $6,518,066,000 | +14.5% |
| 15. | Germany | $6,118,738,000 | +71.5% |
| 16. | Armenia | $5,943,260,000 | +333.6% |
| 17. | Indonesia | $4,582,910,000 | +76.2% |
| 18. | Malaysia | $4,042,271,000 | +40.5% |
| 19. | Azerbaijan | $3,312,935,000 | +96262.3% |
| 20. | France | $3,203,866,000 | +36.4% |
| 21. | Taiwan | $2,684,718,000 | +56.9% |
| 22. | South Korea | $2,302,354,000 | +134.1% |
| 23. | Austria | $1,682,821,000 | -52.4% |
| 24. | Vietnam | $1,342,865,000 | +396.4% |
| 25. | South Africa | $1,122,064,000 | +67.9% |
| 26. | Lebanon | $781,893,000 | -62.6% |
| 27. | Belgium | $597,374,000 | +56.2% |
| 28. | Free Zones | $554,866,000 | +18.5% |
| 29. | Kazakhstan | $541,192,000 | +254.3% |
| 30. | Japan | $500,759,000 | +82% |
| 31. | Iran | $496,829,000 | -59.4% |
| 32. | Poland | $454,301,000 | +38% |
| 33. | Oman | $436,937,000 | -40.8% |
| 34. | Netherlands | $412,638,000 | +38% |
| 35. | Spain | $409,419,000 | -29.8% |
| 36. | Jordan | $408,503,000 | -70.3% |
| 37. | Tajikistan | $352,659,000 | 0% |
| 38. | Dominican Republic | $303,597,000 | +2.7% |
| 39. | Kyrgyzstan | $238,473,000 | +1211.8% |
| 40. | Czech Republic | $230,644,000 | -5.2% |
| 41. | Bangladesh | $225,986,000 | -72.8% |
| 42. | Bulgaria | $210,350,000 | +720.3% |
| 43. | Estonia | $198,244,000 | +91.1% |
| 44. | Croatia | $185,412,000 | +27.1% |
| 45. | Russia | $180,402,000 | -1.4% |
| 46. | Laos | $173,485,000 | +150.6% |
| 47. | Slovakia | $167,434,000 | +166.3% |
| 48. | Cambodia | $165,154,000 | -26.3% |
| 49. | Slovenia | $161,644,000 | +8.7% |
| 50. | Israel | $134,967,000 | +99.7% |
| 51. | Mexico | $115,785,000 | -14.1% |
| 52. | Hungary | $102,710,000 | +7.5% |
| 53. | Serbia | $102,334,000 | +75.5% |
| 54. | Uzbekistan | $102,068,000 | +2325% |
| 55. | Iraq | $92,546,000 | -95.8% |
| 56. | Romania | $89,310,000 | +162.9% |
| 57. | Philippines | $86,977,000 | +11.1% |
| 58. | Morocco | $85,526,000 | +43.5% |
| 59. | Bhutan | $83,959,000 | +7443.5% |
| 60. | Portugal | $62,664,000 | -4.7% |
| 61. | Malta | $61,106,000 | +1562.7% |
| 62. | Tunisia | $60,154,000 | +38.5% |
| 63. | Sweden | $52,203,000 | -70.7% |
| 64. | Egypt | $50,055,000 | -64% |
| 65. | Cayman Islands | $43,119,000 | +2373.8% |
| 66. | Ghana | $38,365,000 | +2220.9% |
| 67. | Mauritius | $37,811,000 | +4.7% |
| 68. | Bahrain | $36,015,000 | -93.9% |
| 69. | Tokelau | $31,194,000 | 0% |
| 70. | New Zealand | $29,211,000 | -34.7% |
| 71. | Denmark | $26,983,000 | -3.8% |
| 72. | Ireland | $26,795,000 | +36.2% |
| 73. | Finland | $26,167,000 | -25.8% |
| 74. | Latvia | $24,637,000 | -9.3% |
| 75. | Ukraine | $24,103,000 | -69.2% |
| 76. | Pakistan | $23,318,000 | -22% |
| 77. | Gibraltar | $22,308,000 | +2530.7% |
| 78. | Luxembourg | $20,459,000 | -47.8% |
| 79. | Greece | $19,109,000 | -4% |
| 80. | Qatar | $18,147,000 | -94.8% |
| 81. | Lithuania | $17,778,000 | -24.7% |
| 82. | Albania | $14,782,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Kuwait | $12,763,000 | -98.6% |
| 84. | Cyprus | $12,482,000 | -14.7% |
| 85. | Nepal | $11,550,000 | -94.1% |
| 86. | Benin | $11,111,000 | +88.4% |
| 87. | Andorra | $10,959,000 | -10.7% |
| 88. | Rwanda | $9,481,000 | +867.4% |
| 89. | Turks/Caicos Islands | $8,189,000 | +682.9% |
| 90. | North Macedonia | $7,201,000 | +90.4% |
| 91. | Panama | $7,138,000 | +8.1% |
| 92. | Nigeria | $6,943,000 | +86687.5% |
| 93. | Brazil | $6,851,000 | +48.2% |
| 94. | Macao | $5,986,000 | -69.2% |
| 95. | Montenegro | $5,518,000 | +100% |
| 96. | Norway | $5,299,000 | +12.3% |
| 97. | Niger | $4,939,000 | +16931% |
| 98. | Sri Lanka | $4,438,000 | -93.6% |
| 99. | Costa Rica | $4,322,000 | +38.3% |
| 100. | Zambia | $2,476,000 | +1619.4% |
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 2023 to 2024. A value of 0% in that column means that 2023 data was unavailable for the corresponding country.
Main Importers of Gold Ranked by Shipment Weight
Listed below is the physical volume of gold imports by ton for the 15 biggest buyers of gold on international markets as measured by weight.
- Switzerland: 2,123 tons of imported gold (down -11.1% from 2023)
- mainland China: 1,383 tons (down -6.6%)
- United Kingdom: 992 tons (up 28.8%)
- Hong Kong: 887 tons (down -8.9%)
- India: 725 tons (down -2.6%)
- United Arab Emirates: 342 tons (down -72.6%)
- Singapore: 317 tons (up 51%)
- Malaysia: 304 tons (up 120.3%)
- Türkiye: 232 tons (down -53.5%)
- United States: 220 tons (down -12.4%)
- Italy: 208 tons (up 18.2%)
- Canada: 207 tons (down -24.7%)
- Armenia: 199 tons (down -17.8%)
- Thailand: 199 tons (up 55.5%)
- Belgium: 178 tons (down -48.3%)
Experiencing gains by shipment weight purchased were gold importers in Hong Kong (up 120.3% since 2023), Thailand (up 55.5%), Singapore (up 51%), United Kingdom (up 28.8%) and Italy (up 18.2%).
Posting severe year-over-year declines were gold buyers in the United Arab Emirates (down -72.6% from 2023), Türkiye (down -53.5%), Belgium (down -48.3%) and Canada (down -24.7%).
Average Prices Paid by Major Gold Importers
The worldwide average price for imported gold was US$53.827 million per ton. That dollar metric results from 47.6% in inflation from $36.475 million per ton in 2020 and a 35.4% acceleration from $39.753 million per ton one year earlier in 2023.
- Switzerland: US$49,549,627 per ton of imported gold (up 15.6% from 2023)
- mainland China: $74,375,455 per ton (up 19.6%)
- United Kingdom: $77,792,777 per ton (up 24.7%)
- Hong Kong: $73,791,038 per ton (up 20.1%)
- India: $71,422,901 per ton (up 24.6%)
- United Arab Emirates: $72,466,056 per ton (up 18%)
- Singapore: $55,625,139 per ton (down -7%)
- Türkiye: $73,716,772 per ton (up 22.5%)
- United States: $72,498,682 per ton (up 20.5%)
- Thailand: $77,535,256 per ton (up 24.7%)
- Italy: $49,750,904 per ton (up 30.9%)
- Canada: $46,394,874 per ton (up 33.9%)
- Saudi Arabia: $52,368,929 per ton (down -16.2%)
- Germany: $75,539,975 per ton (up 20.7%)
- Armenia: $29,865,628 per ton (up 427.2%)
- Indonesia: $39,170,171 per ton (up 85.3%)
Lowest average prices per ton were paid by major gold importers in Armenia ($29.9 million), Indonesia ($39.2 million), Canada ($46.4 million) and the world-leading gold importer which is Switzerland ($49.5 million).
The highest charges per ton for imported gold were incurred by international buyers in the United Kingdom ($77.8 million), Thailand ($77.5 million), Germany ($75.5 million), mainland China ($74.4 million) and Hong Kong ($73.8 million).
Gold Imports into Switzerland
Switzerland’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$105.2 billion in 2024. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Switzerland imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2024.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- United Arab Emirates: US$12.4 billion (up 27.5% from 2023)
- United States: $11.7 billion (down -23.3%)
- Canada: $7.5 billion (up 28%)
- Uzbekistan: $6.1 billion (down -25%)
- Germany: $5.6 billion (up 92.6%)
- Australia: $4.3 billion (down -18.3%)
- Ghana: $4.2 billion (up 24.9%)
- United Kingdom: $3.8 billion (up 57.3%)
- Hong Kong: $3.7 billion (up 78.5%)
- Burkina Faso: $3.2 billion (up 5.8%)
- Peru: $2.79 billion (up 26.8%)
- South Africa: $2.75 billion (down -26.7%)
- Ivory Coast: $2.71 billion (up 43.7%)
- Kazakhstan: $2.71 billion (down -26.9%)
- Italy: $2.5 billion (up 36.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 72.2% of gold imported by Switzerland in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to Switzerland from 2023 to 2024 were: Germany (up 92.6%), Hong Kong (up 78.5%), United Kingdom (up 57.3%) and Ivory Coast (up 43.7%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their gold supplied to Swiss importers included: Kazakhstan (down -26.9%), South Africa (down -26.7%), Uzbekistan (down -25%) and the United States of America (down -23.3%).
Overall, the value of Switzerland’s imported gold went up by an average 2.8% from all supplying countries since 2023 when gold purchased on international markets cost $102.3 billion.
Gold Imports into China
Mainland China’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$102.9 billion in 2024. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which China imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2024.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- Switzerland: US$39.8 billion (up 7% from 2023)
- Canada: $18.5 billion (up 31.1%)
- Hong Kong: $14 billion (up 51.8%)
- South Africa: $9 billion (down -10.5%)
- Australia: $8.3 billion (down -25.5%)
- Germany: $2.8 billion (up 29.7%)
- Kyrgyzstan: $2.7 billion (down 0%)
- mainland China: $2.6 billion (up 105.3%)
- Japan: $1.7 billion (down -1.1%)
- Singapore: $1.1 billion (down -64%)
- Taiwan: $334.9 million (up 20.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $332.7 million (down -27.7%)
- Russia: $224.4 million (down -30.1%)
- Mexico: $172.9 million (up 1151.1%)
- Guyana: $114.5 million (up 212.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.9% of gold imported by mainland China in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to China from 2023 to 2024 were: Mexico (up 1,151%), Guyana (up 212.4%), mainland China (up 105.3%) and Hong Kong (up 51.8%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their gold supplied to Chinese importers included: Singapore (down -64%), Russia (down -30.1%), United Arab Emirates (down -27.7%) and Australia (down -25.5%).
Overall, the value of China’s imported gold expanded by an average 11.6% from all supplying countries since 2023 when gold purchased on international markets cost $92.1 billion.
Gold Imports into the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$77.2 billion in 2024. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the UK imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2024.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- Canada: US$18.9 billion (up 170.6% from 2023)
- United States: $10.8 billion (up 35.6%)
- Switzerland: $10 billion (up 227.1%)
- South Africa: $6.5 billion (up 217.7%)
- Kazakhstan: $5.4 billion (down -60.2%)
- Australia: $5.1 billion (up 136.6%)
- Germany: $4.8 billion (up 73.9%)
- Uzbekistan: $3.5 billion (up 35.8%)
- Hong Kong: $2.1 billion (up 341.2%)
- Mexico: $1.7 billion (up 40.3%)
- Spain: $1.6 billion (up 6.4%)
- Türkiye: $1.4 billion (up 2,340%)
- Kyrgyzstan: $1.2 billion (2023 data unavailable)
- Japan: $808.6 million (up 47.4%)
- Singapore: $780.4 million (up 78,569%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.7% of gold imported by the United Kingdom in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to the UK from 2023 to 2024 were: Singapore (up 78,569%), Türkiye (up 2,340%), Hong Kong (up 341.2%) and Switzerland (up 227.1%).
The lone major shipper that experienced a decline in the value of gold supplied to UK importers was Kazakhstan via a -60.2% slowdown.
Overall, the value of United Kingdom’s imported gold accelerated by an average 60.6% from all supplying countries since 2023 when gold purchased on international markets cost $48.1 billion.
Gold Imports into Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s global purchases of imported gold totaled US$65.5 billion in 2024. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Hong Kong imported the highest dollar value worth of gold during 2024.
Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- United Arab Emirates: US$15.9 billion (up 62.7% from 2023)
- mainland China: $10.8 billion (up 197.5%)
- Japan: $10.1 billion (up 75.8%)
- Switzerland: $6.1 billion (down -39%)
- Australia: $5.5 billion (down -9.8%)
- Russia: $4.6 billion (down -11%)
- United Kingdom: $1.8 billion (down -78.9%)
- Armenia: $1.67 billion (up 247.5%)
- Canada: $1.66 billion (down -41%)
- Philippines: $1.2 billion (up 416.5%)
- South Korea: $1.1 billion (up 319%)
- Singapore: $958.9 million (down -51.1%)
- United States: $614.7 million (down -0.5%)
- Thailand: $525.2 million (down -15.7%)
- South Africa: $504.9 million (down -61.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 94.6% of gold imported by Hong Kong in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of gold to Hong Kong from 2023 to 2024 were: Philippines (up 416.5%), South Korea (up 319%), Armenia (up 247.5%) and mainland China (up 197.5%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their gold supplied to Hong Kong’s importers included: United Kingdom (down -78.9%), South Africa (down -61.3%), Singapore (down -51.1%) and Canada (down -41%).
Overall, the value of Hong Kong’s imported gold increased by an average 9.4% from all supplying countries since 2023 when gold purchased on international markets cost $59.9 billion.
See also Gold Exports by Country, Switzerland’s Top Trading Partners, China’s Top 10 Imports, India’s Top 10 Imports and United Kingdom’s Top 10 Imports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on June 7, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 7, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 7, 2025
Wikipedia, Gold. Accessed on June 7, 2025