In times of financial turmoil, gold is an indispensable asset, and most countries have different reserves of it, some of which can amount to 60% of international currency reserves, but there are countries that do not have gold at all, or that they have small amounts, according to the data of the Council Global gold for 2021, there are 13 countries that do not have gold reserves and 14 other countries have less than 1% of gold.

A report published by the "Vestikavkaza" website provides 5 economies - for example - that have large foreign exchange reserves and do not have gold.

Canada

Canada is a high-income country rich in natural resources, and the service sector dominates the economy, and according to the International Monetary Fund report for the month of January, the country's economy contracted by 5.2% in 2020 and grew by 4.7% in 2021, and it is expected that The $2 trillion economy will grow by 4.4% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023, due to the current geopolitical situation, as events can change expectations.

According to the site, as of December 31, 2021, Canada's foreign exchange reserves amounted to $106.61 billion, and decreased slightly during 2022 to $102.89 billion as of February 28, as Canada is the largest economy without gold reserves. .


Norway

Norway is one of the richest countries in terms of GDP per capita. It is rich in natural resources, especially oil, hydropower, fish, forests and minerals. Norway is also the third exporter of gas after Russia and Qatar.

Norway meets about 20% to 25% of Europe's gas needs, and natural resources, a skilled workforce and the application of technology have made Norway prosperous.

According to Nasdaq, the country's current GDP is $445.51 billion, and at the end of 2003 the gold reserves in the Central Bank of Norway amounted to 37 tons, made up of 3.5 tons of foreign currency and 33.5 tons of bullion, but in 2004 The Norwegian Bank sold the gold bars, after which it stated - in a press release - that the bank kept "seven bars for exhibitions and 3.5 tons of gold coins that were transported to the United Kingdom in 1940".

Norway's foreign exchange reserves are divided into a fixed-income portfolio and an equity portfolio, and are managed by Central Banking Operations and the Investment Banking Department, which are divisions of the Norwegian Central Bank.

At the end of 2021, Norway's foreign exchange reserves stood at $84.72 billion.

Croatia

Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union on July 1, 2013. It is the third largest non-gold high-income economy, with a GDP of $68 billion. About 67% of Croatia's trade is within Europe, with countries such as Germany Italy and Slovenia, while imports are represented by 77% from Europe, 5% from China and 3% from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As of 1999, Croatia had 13.2 tons of gold, received from the Bank for International Settlements as a share of gold assets when the country was part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

“Croatia’s budget will lose 1 million kroner if the bank decides to keep the gold reserves inherited from the Bank for International Settlements,” the Croatian central bank governor stated, so there is no gold in the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which amounted to $28.31 billion at the end of 2021.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a country rich in natural resources with a higher middle income. The country's GDP is 58.43 billion dollars. It is also included in the group of countries that closely cooperate with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in the form of "OPEC Plus".

According to foreign exchange reserves data, the country had no gold reserves in 2011 and 2012, however in 2013 20.02 tons of gold were purchased, and in 2014 the reserve was increased to 30.17 tons.

In 2016, it decreased to 20.02 tons, and since 2017, gold in tons has not been presented in the country's foreign exchange reserves, and the dollar value of gold reserves has become negligible.

The country's total foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2021 amounted to about $31 billion. However, the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan invests 10% of its investment portfolio in gold.

Other countries that do not have gold reserves include Nicaragua, Cameroon, Armenia, Gabon, Turkmenistan, Congo, Chad, and Eritrea.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a small Latin American country with an open economy, described by the World Bank as an upper middle income country.

Over the past two decades, the country has been actively growing and developing, thanks in large part to an outward-oriented economic strategy. Costa Rica has expanded its economy, which was previously dependent on tourism and agricultural products, through high-tech exports. Direct investment in the country is $2 billion in 2020, according to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The United States is Costa Rica's largest trading partner, accounting for about 40% of the country's exports and imports. Costa Rica is also rich in gold. Mining began in the country in the 1930s, according to Neolix Gold, when the country received great interest after the discovery of new deposits.

Most of the ores were exceptionally high quality, with the primary rocks containing large golden veins.

As a result of large-scale development, huge amounts of gold were extracted.

According to the data of the past ten years, gold is not represented in the country's international reserves, but in December 2021, the foreign exchange reserves of Costa Rica amounted to 7.57 billion dollars.

Other countries that do not have gold reserves

The site mentioned other countries that do not have gold reserves, and they include Nicaragua, Cameroon, Armenia, Gabon, Turkmenistan, Congo, Chad and Eritrea.