Gold has fascinated humanity for millennia, symbolising wealth, power, and beauty. But have you ever wondered just how much gold has been mined throughout history?
Gold mining dates back to ancient civilisations. The best estimates currently available suggest that around 222,600 tonnes of gold has been mined throughout history, of which around two-thirds has been mined since 1950. And since gold is virtually indestructible, this means that almost all of this metal is still around in one form or another.
If every single ounce of this gold were placed next to each other, the resulting cube of pure gold would only measure around 22.6 metres on each side. That's a surprisingly small volume for such a valuable and historically significant metal. And since gold is virtually indestructible, meaning almost all the gold ever mined still exists in some form.
Total above-ground stock (end-Q2 2026):
222,600 tonnes, US$29.0tn
- Jewellery
~99,700t, 45%, US$13.0tn - Central banks
~39,000t, 18%, US$5.0tn - Bars, coins & gold ETFs
Bars and coins: ~47,800t, 21%, US$6.0tn
Gold ETFs: ~4,000t, 2%, US$0.5tn - OTC & other
OTC: ~10,000t, 4%, US$1.5tn
Other: ~22,100t, 10%, US$3.0tn
Physical Investment Gold: ~100,800t, US$13.0tn
Comprises central banks, bars, coins, gold ETFs and OTC.
Below-ground
5. Reserves: ~61,000t
6. Resources: ~114,400t
*Based on data as of Q2 2026. US dollar values based on the LBMA Gold Price PM at the end of the period. Tonnage and values across categories may not sum to totals, as figures have been rounded to the nearest 100t and US$500bn for simplicity. “OTC & other” captures gold used in non-jewellery fabrication, such as technological applications, OTC investment, as well as stocks that cannot be directly allocated to another stock category. Reserves are the portion of an ore deposit that can be economically extracted. Resources are the portion of a deposit in which companies have less geological knowledge and confidence, i.e. less drilling data and only simple economic modelling applied to it, or in some instances no economic modelling at all – it’s a broad category ranging from inferred, indicated, or measured. Estimates for reserves and resources can vary, for example reserves are currently estimated to be ~66,000t by the US Geological Survey.
Source: Metals Focus, Refinitiv GFMS, World Gold Council
Length and Frequency
Annual volume of above-ground stock of gold from 2010 to YTD 2026.
Update Schedule
This data is updated quarterly, in conjunction with the publication of our Gold Demand Trends report.
Units
Volume of gold stock is measured in tonnes and value (US$tn).
