Libya ranked fourth in Africa, and sixth in the Arab world, in terms of gold reserves in central banks, according to the Libyan Center for Building Indicators. The center said that gold represents about 10.43% of the total reserves in the Central Bank, adding that Libya possesses 116.6 tons of gold reserves, and that the central bank bought about 30 tons of gold.
Gold reserves in Arab countries are estimated at about 15,300 tons out of a total of 35,927 tons around the world. Purchases of Arab central banks amounted to 54.8 tons of gold in the year 2023, led by the Central Bank of Libya with about 30 tons, followed by the Central Bank of Iraq: 12.3 tons.
Globally, the United States topped the list of countries possessing gold with more than 813 tons of gold reserves in the world, followed by Germany and Italy.
The Libyan Center for Building Indicators said that gold is an important element in central bank reserves because of its characteristics of safety, liquidity, and profit, so central banks around the world own about a fifth of the total gold that has been extracted throughout history.
