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Maybe the numbers look a bit exaggerated but think of the vast populations and traditional engagement with Gold in all three countries. I found a recent study about Türkiye and will try to decipher my views about China and India on the same.
The distinct Turkish tradition of "saving under the pillow"—a term referring to keeping valuables like gold at home—often comes into play during times of economic crisis, when the government calls on citizens to spend their savings to help revive the economy.
It's not uncommon for Türkiye to ask its people for help and they have responded it in the past. I believe they'll be up whenever needed. In fact they are very smart people and don't even give a damn about inflation or severely depleting national currency. This is also very similar to India where the inflation is around 6% and INR has depreciated around 100% to USD in previous 2 decades. But who gives a fu*k about INR or Lira or even Yen??
To my knowledge I don't see many holding huge amounts in fiat in the banks in either of these three nations. Most people prefer investment in gold or other similar hedge assets, be it very little.
According to the World Gold Council, Türkiye was the fourth-largest gold jewelry market globally in 2023, behind China, India, and the United States, with annual demand totaling 42 tonnes. Over the last five years, annual jewelry demand has averaged 35 tonnes, and 41 tonnes over the past ten years.
Look at the two names ahead of USA and their numbers are just majestic! The people in both of these countries hold around more than 90000 tonnes of Gold. The reasons for china are very identical to those of India's and Türkiye's.
One of the most significant contributors is the country’s enduring tradition of gifting, saving, and investing in gold—particularly in the form of jewelry. This cultural norm is deeply embedded in social life, where gold serves both symbolic and financial functions in weddings, religious ceremonies, and as a trusted form of family savings.
Another key motivation behind Türkiye’s widespread preference for holding physical gold is the desire to avoid taxation on deposit interest and large financial transactions.
These are the same reasons I mentioned in another post #1019192 about Indians loving to hoard as much as gold. I'm not surprised Türks doing the same because historically and culturally both countries share many similar values. In China there's a tradition of gifting gold jewellery when there's a birth in the family.
Another key aspect that I wanna attach here is all three of these nations were very dominant in precolonial eras and it was mostly due to the kingdoms that ruled here were very rich in Gold. There was time when India was called "The Golden Bird".
Thanks.
I have some recollection that Chinese people carry fairly large bank balances. I think it’s common across East Asia.
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Not now. The younger generation is more invested.
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @klk 21h
I've lived in Turkey and the situation there really sucks.
Gold is used as a gift for newborns or weddings mostly. People don't have much savings apart from that and everyone is heavily int debt.
I was shocked when I first went to IKEA there and saw that they offered 0% interest installments in 3-6 months for purchases over the equivalent of 30 USD. The I started learning that when a currency loses 50% of its value every year, you are incentivized to be in debt.
So most people in Turkey have a negative net worth and no saving power.
What hurts them the most is that their salaries are denominated in Liras. Another shocking things was seeing the long lines in gas stations on Sunday nights because the prices would be updated on Mondays. And old mothers hoarding bricks of milk in the supermarket on paydays. Crazy, and very sad.
Everyone knew about inflation, about the current forex rates, about “crypto”, ... And they were still doomed. Everyone was checking the stocks/forex/gold/Bitcoin price on the public bus, on the news, or even taxi drivers putting stop loses while driving.
So no, it's not that they don't care about inflation or that they are living the dream by just having a few grams of gold at home.
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So no, it's not that they don't care about inflation or that they are living the dream by just having a few grams of gold at home.
I agree to most of what you said. By not not giving a fu*k about inflation I meant that they have come above it somehow. You see that have been facing it for a long long time but they are still living under it and not much revolt is forming. That maybe because people there have learnt how to hedge against their currency.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @klk 16h
People are aware of inflation but they don't really understand it. They don't revolt because they aren't sure who to revolt against.
For example, it's common for people to complain to shop/restaurant owners about price hikes. It's common to think that prices go up because this mysterious phenomena of inflation and blame it on the greed of shop owners and powerful people.
I remember talking to a taxi driver that was super proud of Turkey and their “president”. He was saying that the country was great and more powerful than ever, I asked him how much did he work per week. He was working 11 hours on average, 7 days a week. And then he started complaining about the economy. The cognitive dissonance was obvious at that point. So I innocently asked that how could it be that he had to work so much yet be miserable with such a great leader and country. He then complained about the enemies of his nation, and about how everything was USA's fault. And started asking if I was a foreign spy or something...
Most people have no clue about what causes inflation, no matter how used to it they might be.
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not your pillion, not your ounce!
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