China mined 380 tonnes of gold in 2024, more than any other country and 11.5% of total global production. 

Despite that, the country holds only 3,100 tonnes in known reserves, representing 4.8% of the global total. 

At current production rates, China’s known gold reserves would last approximately 8.2 years. 

The visualization above ranks countries by their gold production and reserves. 

It comes from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries.

The Production figures represent gold mined in 2024, while reserve figures represent estimated gold remaining in the ground that could be economically extracted. 

TL;DR

• China mined 380 tonnes of gold in 2024, more than any other country, yet holds only 4.8% of global reserves, giving it an estimated 8.2-year reserve runway at current production rates.
• South Africa, which once produced more than 70% of the world’s gold, produced just 100 tonnes in 2024, less than Ghana’s 130 tonnes. 
• Russia and Australia each hold 12,000 tonnes in reserves, the most of any country, yet both produce at rates that give them more than 38 years of runway. 

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China leads production, but not for long at this pace

China mined 380 tonnes of gold in 2024, more than any other country and 11.5% of total global output, according to USGS data. 

Russia was second at 310 tonnes, Australia third at 290 tonnes, Canada fourth at 200 tonnes, and the United States fifth at 160 tonnes. 

Together, the top five producers accounted for 54.2% of all gold mined globally in 2024.

China’s production dominance carries a significant caveat. 

Its known reserve base stands at 3,100 tonnes (4.8% of the global total), giving it an estimated reserve runway of approximately 8.2 years at current extraction rates.

China is the world’s most prolific gold miner and one of the least sustainably positioned in terms of how long its known deposits will last. 

It is extracting faster than its geological endowment can comfortably support.

Nations sitting on the most gold

Russia and Australia each hold 12,000 tonnes of gold reserves, accounting for 18.8% of the global total.

Russia produced 310 tonnes in 2024 and Australia 290 tonnes. 

At those rates, both countries have reserve runways exceeding 38 years. 

They are the world’s largest reserve holders and two of its most measured extractors, sitting on enormous gold wealth with no urgency to accelerate production.

South Africa’s reserve position makes its production decline even more striking. 

It holds 5,000 tonnes in known reserves (the third-largest figure on record) yet produces only 100 tonnes per year. 

That implies a theoretical reserve runway of 50 years at current rates.

South Africa is not running out of gold. Its mines are aging and increasingly deep, energy costs are high, and operational challenges have made extraction progressively less economic.

The global picture

The world mined 3,300 tonnes of gold in 2024 and holds 64,000 tonnes in known economically extractable reserves, implying approximately 19.4 years of supply at current rates.

That figure will almost certainly extend as rising gold prices make previously uneconomic deposits viable and as exploration confirms new reserves. 

But the 19.4-year baseline captures the current known supply runway.

And behind it sit countries at opposite ends of the sustainability spectrum, from Australia’s 41-year runway to Tanzania’s 6.7 years, mining the same commodity from fundamentally different geological and economic positions.

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ELI5

China mines the most gold today but is depleting its reserves quickly and may run low in about 8 years. 

South Africa used to mine most of the world’s gold but now produces less than Ghana.

Russia and Australia have the most gold still in the ground and are in no rush to dig it all up. Tanzania is the most at risk, with only about 7 years of gold left at current mining rates.

Source: 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries.