Consider the following statements:
- Statement-I: Switzerland is one of the leading exporters of gold in terms of value.
- Statement-II: Switzerland has the second largest gold reserves in the world.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
Switzerland is one of the world's main centres for refining and trading gold, so it ranks among the leading gold exporters by value. But it is far from having the second largest gold reserves: the Swiss National Bank holds 1,040 tonnes, several times less than the United States and Germany.
- ✓ Statement-I Switzerland refines and trades most of the world's gold, and it was the largest exporter of unwrought non-monetary gold by value in 2022 (about US$90 billion, ahead of the United States and the UAE), according to World Bank WITS trade data.
- ✗ Statement-II The Swiss National Bank holds 1,040 tonnes. The Deutsche Bundesbank states that Germany holds the second largest gold reserve in the world after the United States, so Switzerland is not second.
Remember · Switzerland is a gold refining and trading hub, hence a leading exporter by value, but its own official reserve (1,040 tonnes) is far below the top holders, the USA and Germany.
Sources
- World Bank WITS (UN Comtrade data): top exporters of unwrought non-monetary gold, 2022 ↗ “In 2022, Top exporters of Gold in unwrought forms non-monetary are Switzerland ($90,129,887.58K , 1,565,130 Kg), United States ($36,789,874.85K , 643,545 Kg), United Arab Emirates ($35,135,001.67K )”
- RBI, Gold in the Indian Economic System (speech by Y. V. Reddy) ↗ “world gold trading is concentrated in the U.K., Switzerland, Dubai, Hongkong, etc. and India does not figure among them.”
- Deutsche Bundesbank (Germany's central bank), The development of the Bundesbank's gold reserves ↗ · reference work “Germany holds the second largest reserve of gold in the world after the United States, with these holdings accounting for two-thirds of Germany’s foreign reserves.”
- Swiss National Bank, Questions and answers on the SNB's balance sheet ↗ · reference work “The SNB's gold holdings amount to 1,040 tonnes and have been unchanged since the end of 2008.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·