Regarding valuable metals, gold is one of the most valuable assets a country can have. Foreign reserves for gold and other precious metals are used to support a country’s economy, and today, we’ll learn about the countries with the largest percentage of gold held for the year 2022.
Understanding Central Banks, Gold Holdings, and the International Monetary Fund
Each country’s central bank is responsible for holding its gold reserve. Considering the current gold demand globally, many countries have gold holdings in their central banks for political and economic reasons, although it’s not mandatory.
Overall, gold reserves help to fight different economic problems like hyperinflation.
It’s vital to note that, although the IMF isn’t necessarily considered a country, it’s among the institutions with the largest gold reserves in the world.
Other information surrounding the gold industry can be found by researching the World Gold Council, which is responsible for working across each gold industry worldwide.
Top Household Gold Reserves by Country Today
Let’s review the countries with the largest reserves below! Keep in mind that one ton (or “one tonne”) equals 32,150.75 troy ounces of the precious metal, which could equal over 51,262,458 USD, 49,578,667 EUR, or 43,415,167 GBP.
One – United States (8,133.5 metric tons)
The country with the highest gold allocation today is the United States. Decades ago, at least 90%-95% of gold reserves globally were held in American vaults. Today, the US’s foreign reserves account for over 75% of gold, which helps support the national currency.
Two – Germany (3,359.1 metric tons)
In this case, Germany holds this precious metal in different areas aside from its central bank over Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt am Main. Germany also has other reserves in the Bank of England (London) and the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank (New York).
Three – Italy (2,451.8 metric tons)
Many people asked the Italian government to sell some of its total reserves to raise funds for the eurozone crisis, but that didn’t happen, which is why it still holds large amounts of gold.
Four – France (2,436.5 metric tons)
France started to trade dollars for gold from the Fort Knox reserves several years ago; this happened because of former president France Charles de Gaulle, who partially caused the Bretton Woods system’s collapse after these transactions.
Once Richard Nixon came into power, he took the U.S. off the gold standard, which ended these “automated conversions.
Five – Russia (2,301.6 metric tons)
An interesting fact about Russia is that it has been considered one of the largest purchases of gold over the past few years. It even took out China’s spot as the fifth-largest gold holder back in 2018.
Russia started to sell U.S. Treasury Bonds to buy gold and diversity its economy beyond American investments.
Other Countries with Large Gold Reserves in 2022
Although the five countries we just mentioned are the ones with the largest reserves, there are many others that are known for holding a decent spot in the “largest holder” list.
Some of these countries include (in order):
- China (1,948 tons)
- Switzerland (1,040 tons)
- Japan (845 tons)
- India (757 tons)
- Turkey (681 tons)
- Netherlands (612 tons)
- Taiwan (423 tons)
- Portugal (382 tons)
- Kazakhstan (368 tons)
- Uzbekistan (337 tons)
- United Kingdom (310 tons)
- Lebanon (286 tons)
- Spain (281 tons)
- Austria (279 tons)
- Thailand (244 tons)
Bottom Line
There’s unlimited access to information surrounding gold reserves. Several years ago, many countries used to be net sellers and then became net buyers to have some financial power even after their economies grew.
The value of gold doesn’t tend to change often, which is why most countries do their best to have big holdings in case any financial crisis arises. We hope these statistics and data have helped you understand the largest gold holdings by each country.
