World's gold from 1845 to 2013, in tonnes (metric tons in the U.S.)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]
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.[1] 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.[2]
The World Gold Council estimates that all the gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, totals 187,200 tonnes, as of 2017[3] but other independent estimates vary by as much as 20%.[4] At a price of US$1,250 per troy ounce, marked on 16 August 2017, one tonne of gold has a value of approximately US$40.2 million. The total value of all gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, would exceed US$7.5 trillion at that valuation, using WGC's 2017 estimates.[a]
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).[5]
The IMF regularly maintains statistics of national assets as reported by various countries.[6] 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.[7][8]
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.
Top 50 according to World Gold Council's latest rankings (as of 2 August 2024)[9]
^ abBIS and IMF balance sheets do not allow this percentage to be calculated.
^The figure provided is official sector gold reserves, i.e. the sum of central bank owned gold and Treasury gold holdings. This is equivalent to gross gold reserves less all gold held at the central bank in relation to commercial sector gold policies, such as the Reserve Option Mechanism (ROM), collateral, deposits, and swaps.
^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.
^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.
