Figure of the month: 71 grams

It is old news that Germans have a particularly high affinity for gold. The recent study "Gold Investments 2019: Indicators, motives and attitudes of private investors" by the Steinbeis University Berlin on behalf of the German Reisebank shows how high this affinity actually is. According to the study, every adult German owns 71 grams of gold in the form of coins or bullions. In addition, Germans own an average of 58 grams of gold jewellery. All in all, this amounts to 8,925 tonnes of physical gold owned by German private investors. By comparison, the Bundesbank holds gold reserves of 3,370 tonnes.  

As with per capita income and general distribution of wealth, the differences between the federal states of former East Germany and the richer southern regions of the country are also reflected in private gold ownership: while a German in the east owns an average of 55 grams of gold, a person living in the south owns 89 grams. This is, of course, merely an average, but at 74 per cent of the total population, the share is large. 

€4,730 for gold investments in the last two years

On average, German private investors invested €4,730 in bullions and gold coins or gold-backed securities. Most Germans are happy with their gold investments, as a 91 per cent level of satisfaction indicates. A comparison with earlier studies by Steinbeis University shows that investor satisfaction has remained steady over time. This may also be the reason why 82.5 per cent of the 2,000 respondents to the survey which the study is based on stated that they see gold as a long-term investment. 78 per cent of the respondents stated that they plan to expand their gold investments even further in the future. German private investors already account for 6.5 per cent of the global gold stock.

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