Introduction
Gold is a metal and element with a bright and soft orange-yellow appearance. Its symbol is Au and its atomic number is 79, making it one of the denser naturally occurring elements and metals. Because it is soft, malleable, and does not react much with other elements, it has been the standard metal for currency, jewelry, and decorations for much of human history.
Gold has long played a central role in human history, for instance, the earliest found gold artifacts were found in Bulgaria dating back to 4,600 BC to 4,200 BC. Gold has been used all throughout the world, amongst various groups of people and civilizations. For example, history’s wealthiest person, Mansa Musa of the Malian Empire (ruling 1312 to 1337) on his hajj, religious pilgrimage, to Mecca passed through Egypt and brought so much gold on his journey and gave huge amount of this gold in Egypt that it depressed the Egyptian economy for a decade.
Gold has a high fiscal value, due to its diverse uses and nonreactive nature, making it a precious metal for which countries will mine. It is one of the most important metals in the world and, because supply is low and demand is high, is a major source of revenue for countries. However, countries have opted to curb their gold production to achieve environmental goals.
Learn for yourself about gold production by country in the map and charts.
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