Largest gold reserves
The US holds more gold than the next three countries combined — about 75% of its forex reserves.
Headline finding
United States leads the world for largest gold reserves at 8,133 tonnes (central bank holdings).
The full top 25: Largest gold reserves
Click any country to read its full profile.
- 1 United States 8,133
- 2 Germany 3,352
- 3 Italy 2,452
- 4 France 2,437
- 5 Russia 2,333
- 6 China 2,264
- 7 Switzerland 1,040
- 8 Japan 846
- 9 India 822
- 10 Netherlands 612
- 11 Turkey 595
- 12 Taiwan 423
- 13 Portugal 383
- 14 Poland 419
- 15 Uzbekistan 365
- 16 Saudi Arabia 323
- 17 United Kingdom 310
- 18 Kazakhstan 295
- 19 Lebanon 287
- 20 Spain 282
- 21 Austria 280
- 22 Thailand 244
- 23 Belgium 227
- 24 Singapore 230
- 25 Philippines 162
What the numbers show
United States's lead at the top of this ranking is 142.6% above the second-place country — a margin so wide it suggests we're looking at a structural advantage rather than a close-run race.
The five countries leading the table — United States, Germany, Italy, France, Russia — together set the global benchmark. The next 20 countries fill the rest of the table, with Philippines anchoring the list at 162.
Figures are drawn from World Gold Council 2024. We use this source because it produces a single, internally consistent dataset rather than aggregating from national statistics offices, which makes year-on-year comparison reliable. The next update is expected when the source publishes its next annual release — see the methodology section below for which year of data is currently shown.
Methodology and caveats
- What this measures
- tonnes (central bank holdings)
- Source
- World Gold Council 2024
- Coverage
- Top 25 countries shown. Full source dataset covers all 195 sovereign states where data is available.
- Refresh cadence
- Updated annually as the source publishes new figures, typically autumn or spring.
- Known caveat
- Country definitions follow the source: where the UN, the World Bank and the CIA Factbook disagree on borders or recognition, we use the figure as published rather than reconciling between bodies. Comparisons across rankings should be made with this in mind.
Frequently asked
Which country tops the ranking for gold reserves?
United States leads with 8,133 tonnes (central bank holdings). Germany is second at 3,352, with Italy in third place. Full top-10 with sources is above.
What's the source for the gold reserves ranking?
The figures come from World Gold Council 2024. We use this source because it publishes a complete country-by-country dataset using consistent methodology — the alternative of mixing national statistics offices would compromise comparability. Updated annually with the latest available vintage of the data.
How often are the gold reserves figures updated?
Once a year, in line with the source institution's publishing schedule. Major institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UNESCO publish annual updates in different months — typically autumn or spring — and the figures here reflect the most recently published vintage. The source footer on the ranking table shows which year's data is currently displayed.