Madhumitha Jaganmohan
Research expert covering climate and environmental sustainability
Diamond industry - statistics & facts
A diamond is the hardest material on Earth, and has long since been recognized for its beauty as a gemstone. Some 121 million carats of diamonds were estimated to have been produced from mines worldwide in 2022. Major producing countries include Russia, Botswana, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Africa. Worldwide reserves of diamonds are estimated at 1.7 billion carats. Russia has the largest diamond reserves in the world, estimated at some 860 million carats.
The dominant companies and processing structures of the diamond industry
The global diamond mining industry is largely dominated by a handful of companies. The top three companies – Alrosa from Russia, De Beers from Luxembourg, and British-Australian Rio Tinto – account for more than 60 percent of global diamond mine production. Mined diamonds are mostly processed in and sold via the major global diamond centers: Antwerp, Dubai, New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Tel-Aviv. In contrast to precious metals, there is no universal market price per carat for diamonds. Nevertheless, global diamond prices have increased more than tenfold since 1960 to the prices today.Polished diamonds and the value chain
Diamonds increase drastically in value through processing, from production to retail. In 2022, for example, the sales value of rough diamonds amounted to some 17.2 billion U.S. dollars worldwide. After polishing, the value increased by nearly double to 28 billion U.S. dollars. In 2022, the global diamond jewelry market value was approximately 86.5 billion U.S. dollars. Over half of the world's demand for polished diamonds comes from the United States, with a 53 percent share of global demand in 2022.Industrial diamonds: less glamorous but highly utilitarian
Diamonds also have a high industrial value. They are especially well regarded as a material for cutting and grinding tools due to their extreme hardness. Around half of all mined diamonds are not of gemstone quality and are used for industrial purposes. Today, the vast industrial demand for diamonds is mostly satisfied by synthetic diamonds (also known as lab-grown or lab created diamonds). Although, lab-grown diamonds are also increasingly being used in jewelry as an ethical and less expensive alternative to mined diamonds. Due to decreasing production costs and declining retail prices, lab-grown diamond producers are increasingly favoring industrial applications over consumer sales.
