New Zealand, survival without gold reserves

 Can New Zealand and other countries, like Norway and Canada, survive as we know them without gold reserves?

In this blog, I've always kept away from politics, but in this context, talking about gold and its rising price, this is a fractal question I've asked myself for a long time: how can I live without gold? It's a question I've asked for some 20-odd years: what would happen if you didn't have any when gold prices begin to rise? Well, I'm asking the same question at a country level for my home country, New Zealand. Also, for a country I've lived in and been a resident of, Norway, and a country I currently live in, Sweden. Two of them haven't; New Zealand and Norway have no gold reserves. Nor does Canada have gold reserves.

I'm not an absolute expert in this field, but I have a strong interest in it, and I think fractal thinking may help us. Before I go there, it is fractal thinking that underpins my view of the importance of gold and silver as a measuring stick in an economy. They are a unit of measure. I have discussed this inflation comparison or analogy with the coastline paradox. This is my claim on what price inflation is.

Quickly researching, I found, to my astonishment, that Norway and Canada also have no gold reserves. This means they could lose a lot of wealth if their wealth isn't indexed to something secure. They have to know this. The question will be whether petroleum will help Norway, but I don't think so. Oil is not gold. 

As a fractal thinker, the only solution I have for these countries is to form alliances with countries that have gold and silver, and they need to start doing this soon. The fractal thing is, what would a person do if they had no gold reserves? They would experience potentially hyperinflation and a loss of purchasing power with their current means of payment. They would be very interested in knowing anyone in the family who has gold reserves that can help back them. This should work for countries, too. 

I think these events will pay for themselves because countries around the world will want to leverage their gold reserves to buy out countries like New Zealand. 

Gold, as I write, is broken through 5000, and silver through US$100, and yesterday's action suggests it's not going to change any time soon. I don't think it will stop anytime soon.

Google AI searchs: 

 What are New Zealand's gold reserves

AI Overview

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) holds 

no gold reserves. The central bank sold its entire gold holdings in 1991 and maintains its foreign exchange reserves in other assets. Therefore, as of 2026, New Zealand does not officially hold monetary gold as a part of its reserve assets. 

• RBNZ Position: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand confirmed in 2023 that no gold is held as part of its foreign reserves.
• Total Reserves: While the bank does not hold gold, it does maintain substantial foreign exchange reserves, which in 2024 were reported at over 22 billion USD.
• Gold Mining: Although the central bank holds no gold, New Zealand still mines gold, with significant operations in areas like Otago and the Coromandel. 

AI Overview

Norway holds 

essentially zero official gold reserves, having sold off the majority of its holdings in 2004, which amounted to approximately 33.5 tonnes. While and other central banks have increased gold holdings, Norway's central bank (Norges Bank) currently keeps no, or near zero, gold in its official reserves, preferring to manage its wealth through the Government Pension Fund Global. 

• Current Status: As of late 2025, Norway's central bank holds almost 0 tonnes of gold in its official reserves.
• Historical Sales: In 2004, Norges Bank sold the vast majority of its gold reserves, retaining only a few bars for historical and commemorative purposes.
• Wartime History: During World War II, Norway famously evacuated 50 tonnes of gold to the U.S. and UK to prevent it from falling into German hands, most of which was later sold to fund the government-in-exile.
• Investment Strategy: Instead of physical gold, Norway holds its national wealth in foreign currencies, equities, and bonds, primarily through the Oil Fund. 

Norway is unique among many nations in its minimal reliance on gold as a reserve asset. 

AI Overview

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As of mid-2025, Zimbabwe holds approximately 3.4 metric tons of gold in its reserves, managed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to back the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency. This amount represents a significant increase from 1.6 tonnes in mid-2024, with a goal to further increase reserves for economic stability. 

Key details regarding Zimbabwe's gold reserves include:

• Currency Backing: The 3.4 tonnes of gold, along with $100 million in foreign currency reserves, underpin the ZiG, which was introduced in April 2024 to curb inflation.
• Accumulation Strategy: The increase to 3.4 tonnes was achieved through a policy requiring mining companies to pay 50% of their royalties in the form of physical gold (in-kind).
• Target: The central bank has aimed to reach 5 metric tons of gold reserves by the end of 2025.
• Value: The gold-backed reserves were reported to be near the US$1 billion mark by late 2025. 

The reserves are intended to provide stability to the local currency, which replaced the previous Zimbabwean dollar, which had suffered from severe hyperinflation.