In 2020, the WGC member companies produced 34.5 million ounces of gold and were able to contribute close to US$38 billion to the GDP of countries they operate in. World Gold Council member companies have committed to demonstrable standards of responsible and sustainable business practice and their data provided a robust sample to allow us to quantify the industry’s socio-economic contribution. The data was analysed by our research partner Steward Redqueen who used an econometric input-output model to quantify indirect contributions.

Key findings of the report include: 

• In 2020, WGC member companies directly paid US$8.7bn in employee wages and US$7.6bn in tax payments to governments in 38 host countries. 
• Direct payments of US$26.2bn were made by member companies through in-country procurement, and the resulting indirect value-added was estimated at US$21.6bn to local suppliers. 
• The total GDP contribution of WGC member companies in gold mining intensive countries is comparable to the value of Overseas Development Assistance they receive. 
• Every local job at WGC member gold mining operations supports six more, or close to ten more if induced jobs are included. 
• Local employees make up 95% of the WGC members’ in-country workforce, halving the average percentage of expats in the workforce (from 10% to 5%) over the past 7 years