Only a handful countries in the world engage in rough diamond production, also known as uncut, raw or natural diamonds, mining for them from deposits within their territories. As with most other resources, (oil, gold, uranium), rough diamond production is distributed unequally. However, higher carat mined doesn’t necessarily mean better value for the diamond. Other factors like the cut, color, and clarity also influence a diamond’s value.
Here are the top 20 diamond mining countries in the world.
Rank | Country | Production (Carats) |
1. | Russia | 41,923,910 |
2. | Botswana | 24,752,967 |
3. | Canada | 16,249,218 |
4. | DRC | 9,908,998 |
5. | South Africa | 9,660,233 |
6. | Angola | 8,763,309 |
7. | Zimbabwe | 4,461,450 |
8. | Namibia | 2,054,227 |
9. | Lesotho | 727,737 |
10. | Sierra Leone | 688,970 |
11. | Tanzania | 375,533 |
12. | Brazil | 158,420 |
13. | Guinea | 128,771 |
14. | Central African Republic | 118,044 |
15 | Guyana | 83,382 |
16. | Ghana | 82,500 |
17. | Liberia | 52,165 |
18. | Cote D’Ivoire | 3,904 |
19. | Republic of Congo | 3,534 |
20. | Cameroon | 2,431 |