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Gold as an investment - statistics & facts

Gold has been revered as a symbol of wealth and prosperity for millennia. It has managed to maintain its value through the ages and - unlike paper currency, coins, or many other assets - it has been a stable way to pass on and preserve the value of wealth from one generation to the next. A central bank or a nation will often hold gold reserves in order to store value as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors or to secure a currency. The United States has the largest gold reserves of any country, amounting to over eight thousand metric tons.

What is gold used for?

The most common purpose behind demand for gold is jewelry, which generally accounts for between one and two thirds of total gold demand. This changed during the first quarter of 2022, with investment driving nearly half of all gold demand worldwide. This development coincides with the uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and the economic consequences it generated. As a result, gold prices reached almost 2,000 U.S. dollars per troy ounce as of March 2022. Projections of the price of gold, however, indicate it will fall through to 2024.

Why invest in gold?

Historically, gold has been an excellent hedge against inflation because of its tendency to increase in value when the cost of living increases. This stability also extends to periods of economic downturn, where the price of gold often does not suffer in the same way as shares (and other more volatile financial assets). Gold is therefore seen as a safe haven asset by many in times of crisis. There are a variety of ways that retail investors can invest in gold. One is through physically owning the metal, but this can raise issues around storage – as well as often having a high buy in price. Alternatively, people can invest in investment funds (mutual funds or ETFs) that own a quantity of gold, effectively giving the investor a share of the physical gold stored by the fund. Gold funds top the list of the largest precious metals ETFs, with some managing tens of billions of U.S. dollars worth of gold. Finally, there is also the option of investing in shares of gold mining companies. While it could be argued that investing in stocks does away with many of the benefits of investing in gold, it is also the case that gold mining stocks rose during the pandemic.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Feb 17, 2023

Key insights

Average price of gold per troy ounce in February 2023
1,858.11 USD
Annual gold demand worldwide
4,740.8 metric tons
Share of central banks worldwide who invest in physical gold
74%
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Price of gold per troy ounce from 1990 to 2022 (in U.S. dollars)

Financial Instruments & Investments

Price of gold per troy ounce 1990-2022

Gold demand worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in metric tons)

Investment Funds

Gold demand globally 2010-2022

Rate of return of gold as an investment from 2002 to 2022 (based on the last London Gold Fixing of the year in U.S. dollars)

Financial Instruments & Investments

Rate of return of gold as an investment 2002-2022

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