Gold holdings

{{Short description|Quantities of gold held as a store of value}} {{more citations needed|date=October 2017}} thumb|World's gold from 1845 to 2013, in tonnes (metric tons in the U.S.) thumb|World's gold holdings per capita, in grams '''Gold holdings''' are the quantities of gold held by individuals, private corporations, or public entities as a store of value, an investment vehicle, or perceived as protection against hyperinflation and against financial and/or political upheavals.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

During the 19th and early 20th-century eras of the gold standard, national governments undertook an obligation to redeem the national currency for a certain amount of gold.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schenk|first=Catherine|title=The global gold market and the international monetary system|year=2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781137306708|url=https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/90725/1/90725.pdf|accessdate=17 January 2018}}</ref> In such times, the nation's central bank used its reserves to meet that obligation, backing some or all of the currency in issue with the metal it held.<ref>"[https://www.gold.org/research/central-bank-gold-reserves-historical-perspective-1845 Central Bank Gold Reserves, an historical perspective since 1845]", Timothy Green, World Gold Council Study No.23, November 1999</ref>

The World Gold Council estimates that all the gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, totals 187,200 tonnes, as of 2017<ref name="gold">"[https://www.gold.org/about-gold/gold-supply/gold-mining/how-much-gold-has-been-mined How much gold has been mined?]", World Gold Council</ref> but other independent estimates vary by as much as 20%.<ref>"[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21969100 How much gold is there in the world?]", BBC News, 1 April 2013</ref> At a price of US$1,250 per troy ounce, marked on 25 December 2025, one tonne of gold has a value of approximately US$144 million. The total value of all gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, would exceed US$27 trillion at that valuation, using WGC's 2017 estimates.{{efn|Gold, silver, and other precious metals and gems are weighed by the troy ounce. There would be 24,000 troy ounces to 1 imperial ton of weight. One tonne is equal to approximately 32,150.75 troy ounces.}}

==IMF holdings== Since early 2011, the gold holdings of the IMF have been constant at 90.5 million troy ounces (2,814.1 metric tons).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/gold.htm |title=Gold in the IMF |publisher=International Monetary Fund |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422120344/http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/gold.htm |archivedate=April 22, 2011 }}</ref>

==National holdings== [[File:West Point gold.jpg|thumb|Gold bars at the West Point Mint in the United States]] thumb|Official U.S. gold holdings since 1900 The IMF regularly maintains statistics of national assets as reported by various countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/ir/IRProcessWeb/colist.aspx|title=Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity -- Reporting Countries|publisher=}}</ref> This data is used by the World Gold Council to periodically rank and report the gold holdings of countries and official organizations.

On 17 July 2015, China disclosed its official gold holdings for the first time in six years and announced that increased by about 57 percent, from 1,054 to 1,658 metric tons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/html/2015s09.htm|title=Gold & Foreign Exchange Reserves|publisher=|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=2015-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721210921/http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/html/2015s09.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fxdailyreport.com/major-factors-affecting-gold-prices/|title=Major Factors Affecting Gold Prices Fluctuation|date=2016-07-22|newspaper=FXdailyReport.Com|language=en-US|access-date=2016-10-28}}</ref>

The gold listed for each of the countries in the table may not be physically stored in the country listed, as central banks generally do not allow independent audits of their reserves.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:97%;" |+Top 50 UN countries according to World Gold Council's latest rankings (as of 5 May 2026)<ref>{{cite web |date= 5 May 2026 |title=World Official Gold Holdings - International Financial Statistics, 5 May 2026 |url=https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/gold-reserves-by-country |url-access=registration |access-date= 5 May 2026 |website=World Gold Council}}</ref> |- ! style="text-align:left" data-sort-type="number" | Rank ! style="text-align:left" | Country/Organization ! style="text-align:right" data-sort-type="number" | Gold holdings (in metric tons) ! style="text-align:right" data-sort-type="number" | Gold's share of forex reserves |- | 1 || {{flag|United States}} || align="right" | 8,133.5 || align="right" | 83.3% |- | 2 || {{flag|Germany}} || align="right" | 3,350.3 || align="right" | 84.0% |- | — ||International Monetary Fund || align="right" | 2,814.0 || align="right" | —{{efn|name=BISIMFNote|BIS and IMF balance sheets do not allow this percentage to be calculated.}} |- | 3 ||{{flag|Italy}} || align="right" | 2,451.8 || align="right" | 80.6% |- | 4 ||{{flag|France}} || align="right" | 2,437.0 || align="right" | 81.8% |- | 5 || {{flag|China}} || align="right" | 2,313.4 || align="right" | 9.1% |- | 6 || {{flag|Russia}} || align="right" | 2,304.7 || align="right" | 40.6% |- | 7 || {{flag|Switzerland}} || align="right" | 1,039.9 || align="right" | 15.2% |- | 8 || {{flag| India}} || align="right" | 880.5 || align="right" | 18.5% |- | 9 || {{flag|Japan}} || align="right" | 845.9 || align="right" | 9.1% |- | 10 || {{flag|Netherlands}} || align="right" | 612.5 || align="right" | 74.2% |- | 11 || {{flag|Poland}} || align="right" | 581.6 || align="right" | 29.5% |- | 12 || {{flag|Turkey}} || align="right" | 534.8 || align="right" | 61.6% |- | — || 22px European Central Bank || align="right" | 508.4 || align="right" | 56.2% |- | 13 || {{flag|Uzbekistan}} || align="right" | 415.5 || align="right" | 88.3% |- | 14 || {{flag|Portugal}} || align="right" | 382.7 || align="right" | 79.9% |- | 15 || {{flag|Kazakhstan}} || align="right" | 353.5 || align="right" | 77.2% |- | 16 || {{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || align="right" | 323.1 || align="right" | 10.0% |- | 17 || {{flag|United Kingdom}} || align="right" | 310.3 || align="right" | 21.0% |- | 18 || {{flag|Lebanon}} || align="right" | 286.8 || align="right" | 82.4% |- | 19 || {{flag|Spain}} || align="right" | 281.6 || align="right" | 33.8% |- | 20 || {{flag|Austria}} || align="right" | 280.0 || align="right" | 75.8% |- | 21 || {{flag|Thailand}} || align="right" | 234.5 || align="right" | 12.4% |- | 22 || {{flag|Belgium}} || align="right" | 227.4 || align="right" | 59.6% |- | 23 || {{flag|Azerbaijan}} || align="right" |200.0 || align="right" |38.2% |- | 24 || {{flag|Singapore}} || align="right" | 193.8 || align="right" | 6.4% |- | 25 || {{flag|Iraq}} || align="right" | 174.6 || align="right" | 27.1% |- | 26 || {{flag|Algeria}} || align="right" | 173.6 || align="right" | 34.8% |- | 27 || {{flag|Brazil}} || align="right" | 172.4 || align="right" | 7.0% |- | 28 || {{flag|Libya}} || align="right" | 146.6 || align="right" | 20.4% |- | 29 || {{flag|Philippines}} || align="right" | 133.5 || align="right" | 18.6% |- | 30 || {{flag|Egypt}} || align="right" | 129.5 || align="right" | 38.2% |- | 31 || {{flag|Sweden}} || align="right" | 125.7|| align="right" | 24.8% |- | 32 || {{flag|South Africa}} || align="right" | 125.5 || align="right" | 23.2% |- | 33 || {{flag|Mexico}} || align="right" | 120.1 || align="right" | 6.6% |- | 34 || {{flag|Qatar}}|| align="right" | 115.2 || align="right" | 30.3% |- | 35 || {{flag|Greece}} || align="right" | 114.7 || align="right" | 69.5% |- | 36 || {{flag|Hungary}}|| align="right" | 110.0 || align="right" | 24.1% |- | 37 || {{flag|South Korea}}|| align="right" | 104.4 || align="right" | 3.3% |- | 38 || {{flag|Romania}}|| align="right" | 103.6 || align="right" | 16.6% |- | — || 23px Bank for International Settlements|| align="right" | 102.0{{efn|Excluding any gold held in connection with swap operations, under which the bank exchanges currencies for physical gold. The bank has an obligation to return this gold at the end of the contract.}}|| align="right" | —{{efn|name=BISIMFNote}} |- | 39 || {{flag|Indonesia}} || align="right" | 87.0 || align="right" | 8.7% |- | 40 || {{flag|Australia}} || align="right" | 79.8 || align="right" | 16.7% |- | 41 || {{flag|Kuwait}} || align="right" | 79.0 || align="right" | 23.7% |- | 42 || {{flag|Czech Republic}} || align="right" | 76.6 || align="right" |6.3% |- | 43 || {{flag|United Arab Emirates}} || align="right" | 74.5 || align="right" | 4.1% |- | 44 || {{flag|Jordan}} || align="right" | 70.8 || align="right" | 41.5% |- | 45 || {{flag|Denmark}} || align="right" | 66.5 || align="right" | 8.3% |- | 46 || {{flag|Pakistan}} || align="right" | 64.8 || align="right" | 35.1% |- | 47 || {{flag|Argentina}} || align="right" | 61.7 || align="right" | 21.8% |- | 48 || {{flag|Cambodia}} || align="right" |54.4 || align="right" |27.7% |- | 49 || {{flag|Belarus}} || align="right" |53.8 || align="right" |49.3% |- | 50 || {{flag|Serbia}} || align="right" |53.8 || align="right" |27.0% |- | — || World || align="right" | 36,535.4{{efn|World total as calculated by the IMF. This will not equal the total for the countries in the table as ‘World total’ will include data for countries beyond the top 100 and for countries that do not publish their reserves. World total also captures BIS holdings inclusive of swap operations.}}|| align="right" | 29.2% |- | — || Euro area (including the ECB) || align="right" | 10,808.3 || align="right" | 74.2% |- |} * '''Notes''' {{notelist}}

==Private holdings== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |+ <ref name=reuters>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/precious-etf-idUSL3N0ZI3W320150702 |title=Holdings of SPDR Gold, iShares Silver|publisher=Reuters |date=2 July 2015 |accessdate=1 August 2015 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801084704/https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/02/precious-etf-idUSL3N0ZI3W320150702 |archivedate=August 1, 2015 }}</ref><ref name=reuters2020>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN2DB09S |title=Holdings of SPDR Gold, iShares Silver rise|publisher=Reuters |date=29 May 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602232444/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN2DB09S |archivedate=June 2, 2020 }}</ref> |- style="text-align:center;" class="hintergrundfarbe6" ! Rank ! Name ! Type ! Gold holdings (in tonnes) |- | 1 || India || Private || 44,600<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roy |first=Anup |last2=Soni |first2=Preeti |date=2025-10-10 |title=Gold Boom Swells Indian Household Stock to Almost $3.8 Trillion |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-10/gold-boom-swells-indian-household-stock-to-almost-3-8-trillion |access-date=2025-10-11 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> |- | 2 || China || Private || 31,000<ref>{{cite web | url=https://moneyweek.com/investments/commodities/gold/603131/how-much-gold-does-china-own#:~:text=The%20World%20Gold%20Council%20estimates,figure%20of%20around%204%2C000%20tonnes | title=China almost certainly owns more gold than the US – here's why that matters | date=21 April 2021 }}</ref> |- | 3 || SPDR Gold Shares || ETF || 1,167<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spdrgoldshares.com/usa/ |title=SPDR Gold Shares |publisher=SPDR |accessdate=28 December 2020}}</ref> |- | 4 || iShares Gold Trust || ETF || 523.0<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239561/ishares-gold-trust-fund |title=iShares Gold Trust |publisher=iShares |accessdate=28 December 2020}}</ref> |- | 5 || COMEX Gold Trust || ETF || 440.0<ref name="reuters2020"/> |- | 6 || ETF Securities Gold Funds || ETF || 306.9<ref name="reuters2020"/> |- | 7 || Xetra Gold ETF || ETF || 226.9<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.xetra-gold.com/en/product/gold-holdings/ |title= Xetra Gold Holdings |publisher=Deutsche Boerse |accessdate=1 June 2021}}</ref> |- | 8 || ZKB Physical Gold || ETF || 169.4<ref name="reuters2020"/> |- | 9 || Sprott Physical Gold Trust || CEF || 69.3<ref name="reuters2020" /> |- | 10 || SPDR Gold MiniShares || ETF || 66.0<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spdrgoldshares.com/gldm/ |title=SPDR Gold MiniShares |publisher=SPDR |accessdate=28 December 2020}}</ref> |- | 11 || Central Fund of Canada || CEF || 52.7<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centralfund.com/Nav%20Form.htm |title=Central Fund's Net Asset Value |publisher=Central Fund of Canada |date=31 July 2015 |accessdate=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801105835/http://www.centralfund.com/Nav%20Form.htm |archivedate=August 1, 2015 }}</ref> |- | 12 || Julius Baer Physical Gold Fund || ETF || 49.1<ref name="reuters"/> |- | 13 || BullionVault || Bailment || 34.2<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bullionvault.com/audit.do |title=Daily audit - Allocated gold bar lists and bank statements |publisher=BullionVault |date=31 July 2015 |accessdate=1 August 2015}}</ref> |- | 14 || GoldMoney || Bailment || 34.1<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldmoney.com/corporate/real-time-audit |title=Real-Time Audit |publisher=GoldMoney |date=31 July 2017 |accessdate=31 July 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> |- | 15 || ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares || ETF || 26.3<ref name="reuters2020" /> |- | 16 || ABSA NewGold Exchange Traded Fund || ETF || 22.0<ref name="reuters2020" /> |- | 17 || Central GoldTrust || CEF || 21.9<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gold-trust.com/asset_value.htm |title=GoldTrust's Net Asset Value |publisher=Central GoldTrust |date=31 July 2015 |accessdate=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801111616/http://www.gold-trust.com/asset_value.htm |archivedate=August 1, 2015 }}</ref> |- | - || '''Total for the above 17''' || || 64,960 |}

==World holdings== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |+ (2011) (source: United States Geological Survey)<ref name="usgs">[https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/gold/myb1-2011-gold.pdf on page 2 of the pdf file; last paragraph just '''before''' the "Production" section on that page]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00479&cat_id=20 |title=Two Methods for Estimating the Price of Gold by Mike Hewitt |publisher=DollarDaze Economic Commentary Blog - Gold, Oil, Stocks, Investments, Currencies, and the Federal Reserve |accessdate=2012-01-08 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109130755/http://dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00479&cat_id=20 |archivedate=2012-01-09 }}</ref> ! Location ! Gold holdings (in tonnes) ! Share of total world gold holdings |- | Total || 171,300 || 100% |- | Jewellery || 84,300 || 49.2% |- | Investment (bars, coins) || 33,000 || 19.26% |- | Central banks || 29,500 || 17.2% |- | Industrial || 20,800 || 12.14% |- | Unaccounted || 3,700 || 2.2% |}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold Reserve}} Holding Holding

Gold holdings

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