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- Algeria is the African country with the largest gold holding, at 174 metric tons.
- The North African country was followed by South Africa, with official gold reserves reaching 125 metric tons.
In March this year, the price of Gold reached $2,069.25 an ounce, a figure very close to the all-time high it reached in early August 2020. According to financial experts, geopolitical tension caused by the Russian-Ukraine war is sinking the world’s big stock markets leaving investors to run towards what they perceive as safe-haven assets such as the dollar, gold, or bonds.
Generally speaking, when inflation starts to rise, governments will buy large amounts of gold as a countermeasure. In 2020, central banks worldwide bought 272.9 tonnes of gold, according to data reported by the World Gold Council (WGC) data.
Here are the top 10 African countries with the largest gold holdings in 2021, according to Statista
- Algeria 174 metric tons
- South Africa – 125 metric tons
- Libya – 117 metric tons
- Egypt – 80.73 metric tons
- Morocco – 22.12 metric tons
- Nigeria – 21.37 metric tons
- Mauritius – 12.44 metric tons
- Ghana – 8.74 metric tons
- Tunisia – 6.84 metric tons
- Mozambique – 3.94 metric tons
