The world's central banks were among the biggest customers, buying 534.6 metric tons of gold last year.
And the buying has continued into this year.
The World Gold Council reports that worldwide official gold holdings increased to 31,597 tons in February, up from 31,575.1 tons a month ago.
We pulled the numbers on the 10 biggest official reserves.
Note: CBGA refers to the Central Bank Gold Agreements. The first Agreement (CBGA 1) ran from September 27, 1999 to September 26, 2004. The second Agreement (CBGA 2) ran from September 27, 2004 to September 26, 2009. The third Agreement (CBGA 3) will run for five years from September 2009.