Photographs: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters.
China and India remain the cultural heartlands of gold, generating 55 per cent of global jewellery demand and 49 per cent of global demand, says the World Gold Council.
The global demand for gold in 2011 rose to 4,067.1 tonnes worth an estimated $205.5 billion - the first time that global demand has exceeded $200 billion and the highest tonnage level since 1997, according to the WGC.
The main driver for this increase was the investment sector where annual demand was 1,640.7 tonnes up 5 per cent on the previous record set in 2010 and with a value of $82.9 billion.
Here's a look at 20 nations with the highest gold reserves...
1. United States
Gold holdings: 8,133.5 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 74.5%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Tobias Schwarz/Reuters.
2. Germany
Gold holdings: 3,396.3 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 71.4%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters.
3. Italy
Gold holdings: 2,451.8 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 71.0%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Eric Gaillard/Reuters.
4. France
Gold holdings: 2,435.4 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 71.1%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters.
5. China
Gold holdings: 1,054.1 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 1.6%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters.
Switzerland
Gold holdings: 1,040.1 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 16.3%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters.
7. Russia
Gold holdings: 883.3 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 9.1%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Yuriko Nakao/Reuters.
8. Japan
Gold holdings: 765.2 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 2.9%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters.
9. Netherlands
Gold holdings: 612.5 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 59.8%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Amit Dave/Reuters.
10. India
Gold holdings: 557.7 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 9.2%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Nicky Loh/Reuters.
11. Taiwan
Gold holdings: 422.4 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 5.4%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters.
12. Portugal
Gold holdings: 382.5 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 90.5%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Jorge Silva/Reuters.
13. Venezuela
Gold holdings: 372.9 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 72.4%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Fahad Shadeed/Reuters.
14. Saudi Arabia
Gold holdings: 322.9 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 2.9%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters.
15. United Kingdom
Gold holdings: 310.3 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 16.2%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Jamal Saidi/Reuters.
16. Lebanon
Gold holdings: 286.8 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 29.7%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Reuters.
17. Spain
Gold holdings: 281.6 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 29.7%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Lisi Niesner/Reuters.
18. Austria
Gold holdings: 280 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 55.6%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
Photographs: Reuters.
19. Belgium
Gold holdings: 227.5 tonnes
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 38.5%
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20 nations with the world's largest gold reserves
20. Turkey
Gold holdings: 179.1
Percentage of foreign reserves in gold: 9.4%
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