Precious Metals
July 28, 2024
2 min
Precious Metals
This graphic uses data from the Silver Institute's World Silver Survey 2024 to explore the supply and demand dynamics in silver. It illustrates how annual supply and demand have changed from 2015 to 2023 and includes a forecast for 2024. Each layer in the chart represents different demand categories, showcasing how each category has changed.
In 2023, silver demand exceeded supply for the third consecutive year, despite a 30% drop in the market deficit to 184.3 Moz. Declines in bar and coin investment, jewelry, and silverware demand were offset by robust industrial demand, especially from the solar sector. With limited supply growth, the 2024 forecast supply-demand gap is projected to rise by 17%.
Total silver demand fell by 7% to 1,195 Moz in 2023 but was still 9% higher than the second-highest total in this series. The decline was driven by drops in investment, jewelry, and silverware, while industrial demand hit a record high, rising 11% to 654.4 Moz, thanks to gains in green economy applications, particularly photovoltaics.
Silver Supply in 2023
Global mine production fell by 1% to 830.5Moz due to operational suspensions and lower ore grades in several countries. Primary silver production decreased, while supply from lead/zinc and copper mines slightly increased. Recycling grew by 1% to a 10-year high, driven by the industrial sector and high silver prices in India. Official sector net supply fell by 6% but remained trivial in volume.
The silver market in 2023 continued to face a supply deficit driven by robust industrial demand and limited supply growth. While prices remained subdued, ongoing deficits and eventual inventory drawdowns suggest potential future price increases.
Sponsored by:
Eloro Resources Ltd. is an exploration company focused on developing a world class silver and tin project in Bolivia's Potosí Department. Our flagship project, ISKA ISKA , ranks in the top five of global undeveloped resources in scale for both tin and silver. This truly significant grass roots discovery remains open in multiple directions with further potential to both expand and enhance. This world class deposit benefits not only from its proximity to infrastructure, but more importantly, from our connection to Bolivia through our management team and community involvement. Our goal at Eloro is clear - expand resources, attract partnerships, and establish itself as a key player in the mining sector.
Learn more about Eloro Resources at https://elororesources.com/
Source: World Silver Survey 2024
The information presented here may contain inaccuracies and is subject to rounding. We do not guarantee that all information is complete or correct. We accept no responsibility for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from the use of this information. This is not investment advice.
Explore More
View All
Silver in the Data Center: How AI's Power Crunch Is Building a New Pillar of Industrial Demand
Silver in the Data Center: How AI's Power Crunch Is Building a New Pillar of Industrial Demand
In early 2026, the artificial intelligence narrative shifted abruptly from software capabilities to physical hardware constraints. With tech giants committing hundreds of billions to new infrastructure—pushing global hyperscaler capital expenditures past $600 billion this year—the industry has collided with a new primary bottleneck: a severe power and thermal crunch.
Silver's Use Cases: A Visual Guide to Where the Metal Actually Goes
Silver's Use Cases: A Visual Guide to Where the Metal Actually Goes
Somewhere inside a pressurized-water reactor, an alloy that is four-fifths silver is absorbing neutrons to keep the core in check, a job most silver investors have never heard of. It is a useful reminder that the metal people picture as coins and jewelry mostly works elsewhere, across industry.
Ranked: The Countries That Produced the Most Silver in 2025
Ranked: The Countries That Produced the Most Silver in 2025
Mexico remained the world's top silver-producing country in 2025, mining 172.9 million ounces (Moz), roughly a fifth of global supply, according to the World Silver Survey 2026, produced for the Silver Institute by Metals Focus. But Mexico's lead narrowed: its output fell 5% for a third straight year, while second-place Peru climbed 7%. Global mine production rose 3% to 846.6 Moz, even as the ranking's top tier told a story of one leader sliding and its closest rival closing in.
Electric Vehicles Are Set to Become the Auto Industry's Biggest Silver Consumer by 2027
Electric Vehicles Are Set to Become the Auto Industry's Biggest Silver Consumer by 2027
Most of silver's 2026 story has been told from the supply side: a sixth straight year of structural deficit and a record price near $121 in January. Less examined is where the next leg of industrial demand actually comes from. With solar, silver's largest industrial use, now facing thrifting and substitution, the Silver Institute points to a quieter end-use picking up the slack: the automotive sector. A December 2025 study from Oxford Economics and the Silver Institute quantifies that shift, and the engine behind it is the electric vehicle.
