Based on data from several sources, the countries with the largest gold reserves are the USA, Germany, and Italy.

As a hedge and a store of value, gold continues to be significant in times of economic uncertainty. 2023 saw the metal set a new record in December, demonstrating its significance once more in the face of ongoing global dangers and uncertainties surrounding US interest rates.

According to the 2030 projections from World Data Lab, China and India are expected to be the world’s largest consumer markets in 2030.

The following graphic, created by Sam Parker and introduced by Bruno Venditti of Visual Capitalist, shows the top 11 nations in terms of gold reserves as of September 2023. It is based on information from central banks, the World Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Gold Council.

Central Bank Gold Demand

The majority of the gold in the world is kept in a variety of places, such as jewelry holdings, private depositories, and central bank vaults.

Nations have gold reserves for a variety of reasons.

First and foremost, gold is a reliable and steady store of wealth that boosts trust in a country’s economic stability, particularly in uncertain financial times.

Furthermore, even if the gold standard is becoming less relevant, some nations still believe that having gold reserves is essential to preserving currency stability.

Furthermore, nations can diversify their whole portfolio thanks to the tangibility of gold. Central banks currently possess nearly one-fifth of all gold ever extracted.

With 8,133 tons of gold kept in 12 Federal Reserve Banks around the nation, the United States has the greatest gold reserves in the world.

Throughout the past 20 years, the biggest purchasers of gold have been China and Russia, two of the United States’ principal geopolitical adversaries. With 225 tons bought last year, the People’s Bank of China was the largest purchaser of gold.

Among the top 10 economies are seven of the nations with the largest gold reserves.