Gold is one of the most popular forms of investment in the world. In addition to making jewelry, it is also used as insurance to protect against times of crisis. The largest gold reserves are located in these countries.
For central banks, gold is an important component of the official currency reserves. The precious metal proves to be an optimal hedging instrument, especially in times of crisis or when the US dollar fluctuates. For this reason, many countries rely on national reserves of the popular raw material in order to be prepared for uncertain times. This ranking presents the 10 countries with the largest gold reserves in the second quarter of 2025.
Editorial team finanzen.net
11th place: The ranking
Which countries have the most gold? This ranking presents the 10 countries with the largest gold reserves in the world in the second quarter of 2025. The ranking is based on data from the “World Gold Council”. Only countries are taken into account below; gold reserves of institutions such as the ECB or the IMF are excluded from the ranking. The data is as of August 2025.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: Sebastian Duda / Shutterstock.com
10th place: Türkiye
Turkey has continuously expanded its gold reserves in recent years. Compared to the first quarter, the gold reserve has increased by almost eleven tons.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: Nejdet Duzen / Shutterstock.com
9th place: Japan
Japan owns 845.97 tons of gold, ranking ninth. Despite the recent devaluation of the Japanese yen, gold reserves remained stable.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: istock/si-ki
8th place: India
India holds eighth place in the ranking of world gold reserves with 879.98 tonnes. The stocks were increased by around five tonnes of gold compared to the previous year.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: pockygallery / Shutterstock.com
7th place: Switzerland
Switzerland has gold reserves of 1,039.94 tonnes, placing it in seventh place. In an international comparison, Switzerland holds the largest amount of gold per capita.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: Aleksey Klints / Shutterstock.com
6th place: China
China currently holds 2,298.53 tons of gold and is in sixth place in the ranking.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: Markus Traunwieeser / pixelio.de
5th place: Russia
Russia has a gold reserve of 2,329.63 tons of gold, securing fifth place in the ranking.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: valeriiaarnaud / Shutterstock.com
4th place: France
France ranks fourth with 2,437 tons of gold. Unlike some other nations, France rarely participates in gold market movements, instead pursuing a long-term holding strategy. Over the past ten years, the total amount has remained largely unchanged.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: dutourdumonde / Shutterstock.com
3rd place: Italy
With 2,451.84 tons, Italy holds the third largest gold reserves in the world. Despite repeated discussions about the possible sale of part of the reserves for budget consolidation, the inventory has so far remained untouched.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: leoks / Shutterstock.com
2nd place: Germany
Germany ranks second in global gold reserves with 3,350.25 tons. Despite a slight decline of more than 30 tonnes in the last ten years, gold still accounts for around three quarters of the Deutsche Bundesbank’s foreign reserves.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: S.Borisov / Shutterstock.com
1st place: USA
The United States is the undisputed leader in the ranking with 8,133.46 tons of gold. Much of the reserves are stored in Fort Knox and in the Federal Reserve vaults in New York. Foreign central banks also rely on it and keep part of their gold holdings in the USA.
Source: World Gold Council, Image: cholder / Shutterstock.com