Gold Reserves by Country
Quick answer: The largest official gold holder is the United States, with 8,133.5 tonnes, as reported by The Data Visual from World Gold Council data with holdings mostly as of July–August 2026. At today's spot of $3,987.20 per troy ounce, that holding is worth about $1 trillion.
Taken together, the twenty national holdings in the table come to about $3.6 trillion at the same live price. The tonnes change only when a new edition of the data appears; the dollar column moves with the gold spot market price every time the site refreshes.
Sources on this page were last reviewed November 11, 2026, and the rows should be re-read by February 9, 2027.
The top holders, valued at today's spot
A word on where the rows come from, because it matters. The World Gold Council publishes the standard ranking, compiled from the IMF's International Financial Statistics; its November 2026 edition, dated 4 November, carries data as of 30 September 2026 for most countries. That newer table sits behind a login, so we could not read it. The rows below are as reported by a secondary publisher, The Data Visual, in a post dated 2026-10-18 that says it uses the Council's October 2026 release, with holdings mostly as of July and August 2026. That post leaves out international institutions and non-sovereign territories, so the IMF, the European Central Bank and Taiwan do not appear.
| # | Holder | Tonnes | At today's spot | Share of reserves | Holdings as of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 8,133.5 | $1.04 trillion | 83.0% | Aug-26 |
| 2 | Germany | 3,349.3 | $429 billion | 82.7% | Jul-26 |
| 3 | Italy | 2,451.8 | $314 billion | 78.9% | Aug-26 |
| 4 | France | 2,437.0 | $312 billion | 80.6% | Jul-26 |
| 5 | China | 2,386.6 | $306 billion | 9.1% | Aug-26 |
| 6 | Russia | 2,270.5 | $291 billion | 44.3% | Aug-26 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 1,039.9 | $133 billion | 13.7% | Jul-26 |
| 8 | India | 880.5 | $113 billion | 17.1% | Aug-26 |
| 9 | Japan | 846.0 | $108 billion | 10.3% | Aug-26 |
| 10 | Poland | 648.0 | $83 billion | 30.9% | Aug-26 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 612.5 | $79 billion | 72.7% | Jul-26 |
| 12 | Türkiye | 532.1 | $68 billion | 52.9% | Aug-26 |
| 13 | Uzbekistan | 438.6 | $56 billion | 89.9% | Aug-26 |
| 14 | Portugal | 382.7 | $49 billion | 81.0% | Jul-26 |
| 15 | Kazakhstan | 377.1 | $48 billion | 78.9% | Aug-26 |
| 16 | Saudi Arabia | 323.1 | $41 billion | 8.8% | Jul-26 |
| 17 | United Kingdom | 310.3 | $40 billion | 21.2% | Aug-26 |
| 18 | Lebanon | 286.8 | $37 billion | 81.1% | Mar-25 |
| 19 | Spain | 281.6 | $36 billion | 32.2% | Jul-26 |
| 20 | Austria | 280.1 | $36 billion | 74.0% | Jul-26 |
Not a country, so not ranked: the International Monetary Fund held 2,814.1 tonnes according to its own factsheet published September 16, 2022.
The value column multiplies each country's tonnes by the live spot price, so it is our arithmetic on their figures. The share-of-reserves column is gold's slice of each country's total reserves as that publisher printed it; the Council computes that share itself, using the end-of-quarter LBMA Gold Price.
As reported by The Data Visual, the United States holds 8,133.46 tonnes, which it puts at 83.03% of US reserves. Germany follows with 3,349.29 tonnes, then Italy with 2,451.83, France with 2,437, China with 2,386.55 and Russia with 2,270.54. China's line carries a share of just 9.08%: a large pile of gold beside much larger holdings of other reserve assets.
The US figure also shows the gap between book value and market value. The US Geological Survey lists Treasury gold stocks of 8,130 tonnes at each year-end from 2021 through 2025, valued at the official price of $42.22 an ounce. The table above values the same metal at today's spot, which is why the dollar column looks nothing like the official ledger figure.
Rankings shift with the month and with what a list includes. In a note dated 3 September 2026 using data to the end of July, the Council described China as the sixth-largest reported holder at about 2,366 tonnes, 8% of its reserves, and gave Russia 2,277 tonnes. The secondary table, built on a later month and without institutions, places China fifth among countries. The same Council note gave Poland 640 tonnes against a target of 700 tonnes, about 28% of reserves, and Uzbekistan about 431 tonnes, or 87%.
The IMF is a holder, not a country
The International Monetary Fund describes itself as one of the largest official holders of gold. Its factsheet published on 16 September 2022 gives about 90.5 million ounces, or 2,814.1 metric tons. That is more than Italy's figure in the table, but the IMF is an institution owned by its member countries, so it is listed here apart from the country rows, and its figure carries the factsheet's 2022 date rather than this year's.
Central-bank buying since 2022
The Council's annual Gold Demand Trends figures show three straight years above 1,000 tonnes of net buying, then a step down.
| Year | Net central-bank purchases (WGC) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,082 t | a record at the time |
| 2023 | 1,050.8 t | first published as 1,037 t |
| 2024 | 1,092.4 t | first published as 1,045 t |
| 2025 | 863 t | below the three prior years |
| 2026 to end of Q3 | 675 t | includes the Council's estimate of unreported buying |
The middle column shows why every figure here comes with a date. The 2023 total was first published as 1,037 tonnes and later revised to 1,050.8; 2024 went from 1,045 to 1,092.4. The Council revises as reports come in, so a total quoted in an older article may not match the current table.
Who has been buying. China was the largest buyer in 2023 at 225 tonnes, with Poland at 130 and Singapore at 77. In 2024 Poland led with 90 tonnes, followed by Turkey at 75, India at 73 and China at 44. In 2025 Poland was again the largest buyer at 102 tonnes, with Kazakhstan at 57 and Brazil at 43 between September and November; Singapore and Russia were sellers. The Council described unreported buying as significant in 2025. In the third quarter of 2026, the People's Bank of China added 63 tonnes and the National Bank of Poland 40, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan 14 tonnes each, and Russia, down 19, was the only sizeable seller. Earlier in the year, through July, Turkey had sold 85 tonnes and Russia 50.
Two 2026 numbers that measure different things. You may see 675 tonnes and 228 tonnes both quoted as central-bank buying this year. The 675 tonnes is the Council's total through the third quarter, 6% above the same period of 2025, and it includes the Council's estimate of buying that no central bank has reported. The 228 tonnes is what central banks themselves reported through September, 7% lower than a year earlier. In the third quarter alone, reported buying was 120 tonnes against an estimated 321 tonnes, so roughly 63% went unreported, and those figures were captured to 30 October and may be revised. Neither number is wrong; one counts what was declared and the other adds an estimate of what was not.
Chinese buying is only one part of demand in that market; the exchange side shows up in the Shanghai gold price, which this site compares with the last US futures close. How central-bank demand fits against selling elsewhere in 2026 is covered on the page about why the gold price is dropping.
Why central banks say they hold gold
The Council's Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2026, run with YouGov from 5 February to 19 May and released on 16 June, drew answers from 76 central banks. Of the reasons respondents gave for holding gold, a record 90% cited its performance in times of crisis, 84% its role as a long-term store of value and 82% diversification; among emerging and developing economies, 85% cited a hedge against geopolitical risk.
Asked about the year ahead, 89% expected global central-bank gold holdings to rise over the next twelve months, and a record 45% expected their own holdings to rise. Looking five years out, 83% expected gold's share of reserves to be higher, and 74% expected the US dollar's share of global reserves to be lower. As for storage, the Bank of England was the most-used vault at 57%, followed by domestic storage at 49%. These are survey answers about intentions and reasons, not commitments.
How the figures are compiled, and why they lag
The country rankings start with what central banks report to the IMF, which publishes them in International Financial Statistics. That data runs about two months in arrears: the Council's November edition shows holdings as of September 2026 for most countries, and as of June 2026 or earlier for late reporters. The Council amends the IMF data where it knows of unreported movements or misprints.
The monthly statistics are narrower. They count only changes that central banks report publicly, and the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, which reports quarterly, is left out of the monthly totals. That is one reason the monthly running total sits so far below the quarterly estimate. A further wrinkle on this page: the table's date column shows that a few holders reported well before the rest, and one row carries a holdings date more than a year old. When you compare two countries, check that their dates match.
Reserves set against mine output
Official holdings are a large share of all the gold ever mined: about 39,300 tonnes, or 18% of the above-ground stock at the end of the third quarter of 2026, per the Council. Annual buying is small beside that stock but not beside new supply. The Council counts 2025 mine output at 3,672 tonnes, against 863 tonnes of net central-bank purchases that year. The US Geological Survey's estimate of 2025 mine output is lower, at 3,300 tonnes.
For the value of the whole stock, see the gold market cap page, and for how the price behind all these values has moved over decades, the gold price chart over 50 years. The market cap figure uses the same live spot quote as the table above.
This page can't tell you what any central bank will do next, whether buying will continue, or what it means for the price. The table is a snapshot with a lag of months, the buying figures are revised after publication, and survey answers describe intentions. What it can do is show who holds what, as of when, and by whose count.
If the reason you are reading about official gold is that you are weighing some for your own retirement account, compare today's gold spot price with what you would actually pay, and read about Augusta Precious Metals before you request anything.
Information, not financial advice. This page does not tell you to buy or sell, and it does not forecast prices. Figures are reference values at the time shown.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the most gold?
The United States, with 8,133.5 tonnes in the latest table we could read, as reported by The Data Visual from World Gold Council data. Germany is second and Italy third. Holdings are mostly as of July–August 2026, and the Council's newer November 2026 edition exists, so check the date before you quote a ranking.
Why are the reserve figures months old?
Countries report their holdings to the IMF, whose statistics run about two months behind, and some report later than others. The World Gold Council compiles those reports and corrects them where it knows of unreported moves. A table read today therefore describes holdings from the summer, with a few rows older still.
Why do two sources give different totals for 2026 central-bank buying?
One counts only what central banks reported publicly, which was 228 tonnes through September. The other is the World Gold Council's quarterly total of 675 tonnes through the third quarter, which adds its estimate of unreported purchases. Both are dated, both may be revised, and they answer different questions.
Sources
Every page a fact on this page came from, marked as the publisher's own page or a page that reports it, with the date we read it.
- thedatavisual.com (thedatavisual.com; a page reporting it; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- pubs.usgs.gov (pubs.usgs.gov; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- imf.org (imf.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
- gold.org (gold.org; the publisher's own page; read 2026-11-11)
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