Iraq ranked sixth among Arab countries in gold reserves
Baghdad — Al-Eqtisadiah news published a study on Tuesday that revealed Arab countries’ gold reserves by the end of the first quarter of 2022, with Iraq ranking sixth.
According to the research, Iraq possesses around 96.4 tons of gold reserves, accounting for 6.8% of Arab countries’ total gold reserves, which totaled 1412.7 tons at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The world’s gold reserves total 35.59 million tons, with Arab countries’ holdings accounting for about 4% of total reserves.
According to data from the World Gold Council, the United States of America is at the top of the list, with 8.13 thousand tons of gold reserves, accounting for 22.9 percent of global reserves.
Saudi Arabia, which is ranked 18 in the world, came in first among Arab countries with gold reserves of 323.1 tons, accounting for 22.9 percent of total gold reserves in the region.
Lebanon is ranked second among Arab countries, with 286.8 tons of gold reserves, accounting for 20.3 percent of the Arab gold reserves. Algeria is third, with 173.6 tons of gold reserves, while Egypt is fourth, with 125 tons.
The amount of gold held by central banks is a measure of a country’s creditworthiness and capacity to meet its financial obligations to creditors. It also provides financial stability to countries during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 epidemic.
