August 20, 2026 | 11:31 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Gold remains a key asset for the world's central banks. It offers a store of value and a hedge against economic and geopolitical uncertainty. While some countries hold thousands of tons, others maintain much smaller reserves. Data from the World Gold Council cited by Visual Capitalist highlights the wide gap between the world’s largest and smallest gold holders.
Countries with the Most Gold Reserves
The United States and European Countries dominate the top of the ranking. The U.S. tops the ranking with the largest gold reserves, 8,133 tons, with the largest share of 82.4 percent.
Based on gold reserves, Germany ranks second with 3,350 tons (82.2 percent share), followed by Italy with 2,452 tonnes (79.3 percent share) and France with 2,437 tons (79.9 percent share).
With 2,306 tons of gold, China has the fourth-largest amount in the dataset. However, the country only has an 8.6 percent share of its total reserves due to the size and composition of its other reserve assets.
Switzerland rounds out the ranking with 1,040 tons in gold reserves and a 13.6 percent share.
Countries with the Least Gold Reserves
Despite its gold reserves, Spain has the largest share, at 30.8 percent, with 282 tons in holdings. Brazil follows with 172 tons in gold reserves and a 6.8 percent share, and Mexico with 120 tons (6.6 percent share).
South Korea is also among the countries with the least amount of gold, with only 104 tons and a 3.4 percent share. Meanwhile, Indonesia has 86 tons of gold reserves and a 7.7 percent share.
Australia shows a small figure in its gold reserves. However, with 80 tons of reserves, the country has a 15.3 percent share.
Canada ranks at the bottom of the list, holding no official gold reserves despite being a major gold-producing country. Its government sold the last of its gold holdings in 2016, meaning it has 0 gold in the country’s central bank reserves.
The move reflected a long-term shift away from gold following the end of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s, when currencies became less directly tied to gold.
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