These 10 countries buy the most gold jewelry

U.S. Global Investors From Business Insider

For millennia, cultures across the globe have coveted gold jewelry for its brilliant yellow hue and imperviousness to rust and corrosion of any kind.

That same obsession survives today, especially in countries where it’s considered auspicious to give gold jewelry as a gift during birthdays, weddings and holidays. To many, gold jewelry is the ideal gift—not only is it beautiful and decorative, but it also holds its value well and can be passed down to future generations.

In the following slideshow, explore the top 10 countries with the biggest appetite for gold jewelry! All data is courtesy of the GFMS Gold Survey, the annual Thomson Reuters report on the global gold market, and reflects demand in tonnage for 2016.

10. Egypt
Robert Johnson/Business Insider
27.9 metric tons

As long ago as the 13th century BCE, ancient Egyptians were responsible for creating what’s believed to be the first topographic map, known today as the Turin Papyrus Map, which showed the locations of gold deposits and a gold-mining settlement. They revered gold so much, they referred to it as “the flesh of the gods.” Today’s Egyptians are still strongly attracted to the yellow metal.

9. Russia
Shutterstock/Kudla
30.2 metric tons

For the past couple of years, Russia’s central bank has been one of the largest net purchasers of gold as the nation seeks to shore up its currency. Reserves stand at nearly 55 million ounces as of June. But individual consumers also have a taste for gold jewelry, buying as much as 30.2 tonnes in 2016.

8. Indonesia
A man mines for gold at Pidie district, Indonesia’s Aceh provinceREUTERS/Tarmizy Harva
34.2 metric tons

Indonesia is home to the world’s largest known gold deposit and one of the largest gold mines, the Grasberg project, where approximately 18,000 people work. The notorious Bre-X gold mining scandal of the 1990s took place in Indonesia, which was loosely depicted in the 2016 film Gold, starring Matthew McConaughey.

7. Saudi Arabia
Saudi youths demonstrate a stunt known as “sidewall skiing” (driving on two wheels) in the northern city of Tabuk, in Saudi Arabia December 3, 2014.Reuters/Mohamed Al Hwaity
38.1 metric tons

Islamic, or Shari’ah, law long did not permit investment in gold bullion, but in December 2016, it was announced to great enthusiasm that the yellow metal would, for the first time, be Shari’ah-compliant as an investment, joining equities, REITs (real estate investment trusts), sukuk (Islamic bonds) and takaful (insurance).

6. Turkey
Flickr/aigle_dore
39.7 metric tons

In July, Turkey imported the most-ever gold on a monthly basis since the Borsa Istanbul Precious Metals Markets was established in 1995. The Eurasian country consumed some 62.8 tonnes of the yellow metal in July, which is more than most countries’ central banks have on reserve. It’s little wonder, though, as Turkish consumers have a huge appetite for gold jewelry.

Customers shop for jewelry in the historic Bazar-e Bozorg in Isfahan, Iran.John Moore/Getty Images
39.7 metric tons

In 2016, Iran was the fifth-largest buyer of gold jewelry, and so far this year, the Middle Eastern country isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. According to the World Gold Council (WGC), gold jewelry purchases in Iran during the first three months of 2017 rose 27 percent year-over-year to a four-year high.

4. United Arab Emirates
The Dubai Mall
46.2 metric tons

Dubai is known throughout the world as one of the premiere gold jewelry hubs. The city’s Gold Souk market is home to approximately 300 shops, all of them displaying beautiful gold jewelry of every kind. A 2011 study conducted by the Italian Trade Commission found that Emiratis have the highest per capita purchases of gold in the world, at an average of 34 grams bought every year.

3. United States
Pedestrians walk past the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in New York, where nearly $200 billion worth of gold rests on bedrock five stories undergroundAP Photo/Seth Wenig
138.2 metric tons

The California Gold Rush (1848-1855) not only put the Golden State on the map but also served as a turning point in the history of world gold mining. It’s been estimated that nine out of every 10 tonnes of above-ground gold has been mined since the Gold Rush only 170 years ago. Today, Americans’ obsession with the yellow metal remains just as strong as ever.

2. India
Devotees dance as they are soaked in liquid saffron as it poured over the monolithic statue of Jain sage Gomateswara during the first day of the Mahamastak Abhisheka ceremony in Shravanabelagola, India.Mario Tama/Getty Images
463.1 metric tons

India’s love of gold goes back thousands of years. Today, Indian households have the largest private gold holdings in the world, standing at an estimated 24,000 tonnes. There’s even an expression: “In India, a marriage is not a marriage without gold.” During the Diawli festival, which normally begins in October, it is considered auspicious to give gold jewelry as a gift.

1. China
A visitor stands in front of a statue of China’s late Chairman Mao Zedong made of gold, jadeite and diamond during an exhibition in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.REUTERS/Stringer
612.5 metric tons

In 2016, China bought more gold jewelry than India and the U.S. combined. This is largely a function of the growth of upper-income earners in the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy, which also mines more gold annually than any other. McKinsey & Company believes that by 2025, China will contribute as much as 44 percent to the global luxury market, of which gold jewelry is a part.

dubai gold jewelry
AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili

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