The Canadian economic website "Visual Capitalist" published part of the data from the American "Kimberley Process" for 2022, alongside statistics prepared by Ashok Damaruprasad, a specialist in diamonds and precious metals based in South Africa, related to the world's top diamond-producing and importing countries. Russia topped the list in diamond production in 2022, with a total nearing 42 million carats (a carat is a unit of weight measure for diamonds, equal to 0.2 grams). Russia's significant diamond production and its leading position indicate that it has managed to circumvent numerous sanctions imposed due to the conflict with Ukraine. According to the Canadian site, difficulties in tracking the sources of diamonds are one of the factors that helped Russia overcome the sanctions.
Russia produces diamonds at a vastly higher rate than its peers, followed by Botswana in second place, with a total of 24.8 million carats (4.96 million grams). Canada ranks third, having produced 16.2 million carats (3.24 million grams), while the Democratic Republic of the Congo comes in fourth with a total of 9.9 million carats. Unlike oil and gold, where the top 10 producing countries account for about 99% of global production, diamond production is more widely distributed, according to the report.
Production volume does not necessarily equate to profit in the diamond market, as quality, purity, and cut determine value. "Visual Capitalist" highlighted that although Botswana produced 59% of what Russia did in diamonds in 2022, its actual value was around $5 billion, one and a half times higher than what Russia earned.
In this context, Angola ranked sixth among the largest diamond producers in 2022 while securing the third position in terms of value. According to the site "The Global Economy," India emerged as the largest diamond importer in the world, followed by the UAE at $10.4 billion, Israel at $2 billion, Botswana at $1.66 billion, and then China, South Africa, and Singapore. Lebanon secured a position in the list with its diamond imports valued at about $306 million, ranking second among Arab countries and eighth globally, surpassing the United States and Armenia, according to "Al Jazeera Net."
