Top 10 Golden Countries

United States

Tonnes: 8,133.5

Percent of foreign reserves: 79%

With the largest official holdings in the world, the US lays claim to nearly as much gold as the next three countries combined. It also has the highest gold allocation as a percentage of its foreign reserves at 79 percent.

 Germany

 

Tonnes: 3,363.6

Percent of foreign reserves: 75.6%

In 2017 Germany completed a four-year repatriation operation to move a total of 674 tonnes of gold from the Banque de France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York back to its own vaults.

 Italy

 

Tonnes: 2,451.8

Percent of foreign reserves: 71.3%

Italy has likewise maintained the size of its reserves over the years, and it has support from European Central Bank (ECB).

 France

 

Tonnes: 2,436.0

Percent of foreign reserves: 65.5%

France’s central bank has sold little of its gold over the past several years, and there are calls to halt it altogether.

  Russia

 

Tonnes: 2,299.9

Percent of foreign reserves: 23%

The Russian Central Bank has been the largest buyer of gold for the past seven years and overtook China in 2018 to have the fifth-largest reserves. In 2017, Russia bought 224 tonnes of bullion in an effort to diversify away from the US dollar.

 China

 

Tonnes: 1,948.3

Percent of foreign reserves: 3.4%

 Although China comes in sixth for most gold held, the yellow metal accounts for only a small percentage of its overall reserves – a mere 3.4%.

 Switzerland

 

Tonnes: 1,040.0

Percent of foreign reserves: 6.5%

In seventh place is Switzerland, which actually has the world’s largest reserves of gold per capita.

 Japan

 

Tonnes: 765.2

Percent of foreign reserves: 3.2%

Japan, the world’s third largest economy, is also the eighth largest hoarder of the yellow metal.

  India

 

Tonnes: 657.7

Percent of foreign reserves: 7.5%

 The South Asian country, home to 1.25 billion people, is the second largest consumer of the precious metal, and is one of the most reliable drivers of global demand.

 Netherlands

Tonnes: 612.5

Percent of foreign reserves: 71.4%