Russia remained the top diamond producer last year, accounting for 37.3 million, or 33.5%, of the world's total output in carats for the second time in history. For the first time since 2019, Russia surpassed Botswana in the value of diamonds produced, according to Sputnik calculations based on Kimberley Process data.
Among the top producers, Russia uniquely managed to increase the value of its output by 1.5% to $3.6 billion, despite an 11% drop in production volume.
In contrast, Botswana increased its production by 2.4% to 25.1 million carats last year, but its value dropped sharply by 30% to $3.3 billion. Canada remained in third place with a 1.7% drop in production to 16 million carats and a 17.5% decline in value to $1.55 billion.
Angola moved up from sixth to fourth place in diamond production with an 11.3% increase to 9.75 million carats, but a 22% drop in value to $1.5 billion. The Democratic Republic of Congo rounded out the top five with a 23% reduction in production to 8.35 million carats and a 15% drop in value to $65 million.
South Africa reduced its diamond production last year by 39% to 5.9 million carats, and Zimbabwe by 10% to 4.9 million carats. The value of diamonds in both countries also decreased: by 48% to $794 million in South Africa and by 28% to $303.2 million in Zimbabwe. Namibia, which mainly mines diamonds from the ocean, increased its "catch" by 16% to 2.4 million carats, while the value remained nearly unchanged, dropping by only 0.04% to $1.2 billion.
The top ten diamond producers were completed by Sierra Leone, where diamond production fell by 24% to 525,000 carats and value dropped by 28% to $103 million, and Lesotho, which produced 472,000 carats worth $139 million, compared to 548,000 carats worth $244 million the previous year.
Overall, global diamond production declined by 8% to 111.5 million carats last year, and the value of these diamonds dropped by 20% to $12.7 billion. This production level is the second lowest in history, with the only lower result recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at 107.3 million carats.