World Population vs. Available Gold You've probably seen in recent news headlines where China is reported to overtake India as the top gold market. In the past we talked about how countries such as China are allowing their citizens to own gold and the affect this has had, but how dose the overall increase in the world's population affect the demand for gold. The chart below gives an overall picture of the gold vs. population situation. It should be noted that the 'gold' reference is to the supply of new gold from mines and not the existing gold inventory. Think the value of gold won't go up? Consider that the new supply of gold - this includes scrap, mining, etc. - has decreased about 4% while the rate of population growth has gone up about 15%. While the increase in world population for the year 2011 matched the production of 'new' gold, the trend for the world's population in the coming years is expected to exceed the supply of gold available on the market. Add to this The demand by China who imported over 3 million ounces of gold in November, 2011 The fact that gold held by the world's central banks is at a high for the period 2006-2012 . . . but has fallen about 15% from the overall amount they held in 1980. With gold's market value remaining over $1,600 and higher, the demand for the more affordable bullion coins in silver is understandable. Consider - that in the US and Canada for the year 2011 - the sales of silver bullion coins (Silver Eagle & Maple Leaf) surpassed production. And at that, it is thought that less than 5% of people in the US own any gold or silver. So with the current economic state of affairs, you can see how the demand for precious metals has the potential to become a very interesting situation, particularly with the population growth projected to overcome the gold production. Return to Gold Coins-Silver Bullion Home Use of this page constitutes acceptance and understanding of Gold Coins-Silver Bullion Terms. Copyright - All Rights Reserved GC-SB makes no claim to any content but offers it solely as information to its visitors.