The world’s nations held a combined 35,218 tonnes of gold reserves as of February 2021, up from 34,700 tonnes the year before. Countries hold gold reserves to support their currency in cases of hyperinflation or other economic crises.
Though holding gold reserves is a luxury every nation would like to afford, less than 100 countries have substantial gold reserves. Just five countries hold the majority of the 35,000 tonnes of the world’s gold reserves. Only 34 nations have over 100 tonnes of gold reserves on hand.
To determine the countries that control the world’s gold, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on gold reserves by country in tonnes (metric tons) as of February 2021 from the World Gold Council.
Unsurprisingly, many of the countries on this list rank as the wealthiest in the world. These are the richest counties in the world.
Click here to see the countries that control the world’s gold.
Click here to see our detailed methodology.
34. Romania
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 103.6 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $6.4 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 12.0%
> GDP: $580.4 billion ($29,984 per capita)
> Population: 19.4 million
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33. South Korea
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 104.4 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $6.4 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 1.3%
> GDP: $2.2 trillion ($42,879 per capita)
> Population: 51.7 million
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32. Greece
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 113.9 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $7.0 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 57.8%
> GDP: $326.5 billion ($30,465 per capita)
> Population: 10.7 million
31. Libya
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 116.6 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $7.2 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 8.2%
> GDP: $102.8 billion ($15,174 per capita)
> Population: 6.8 million
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30. Mexico
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 119.9 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $7.4 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 3.4%
> GDP: $2.5 trillion ($19,766 per capita)
> Population: 127.6 million
29. South Africa
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 125.3 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $7.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 13.1%
> GDP: $730.9 billion ($12,482 per capita)
> Population: 58.6 million
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28. Sweden
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 125.7 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $7.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 12.9%
> GDP: $541.1 billion ($52,609 per capita)
> Population: 10.3 million
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27. Singapore
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 127.4 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $7.8 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 1.9%
> GDP: $555.2 billion ($97,341 per capita)
> Population: 5.7 million
26. Thailand
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 154.0 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $9.5 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 3.4%
> GDP: $1.3 trillion ($18,460 per capita)
> Population: 69.6 million
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25. Venezuela
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 161.2 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $9.9 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 82.4%
> GDP: $ ($00 per capita)
> Population: 28.5 million
24. Algeria
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 173.6 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $10.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 17.0%
> GDP: $495.6 billion ($11,511 per capita)
> Population: 43.1 million
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23. Philippines
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 179.5 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $11.0 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 9.3%
> GDP: $963.1 billion ($8,908 per capita)
> Population: 108.1 million
22. Belgium
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 227.4 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $14.0 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 40.2%
> GDP: $596.2 billion ($51,915 per capita)
> Population: 11.5 million
21. Poland
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 228.7 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $14.1 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 7.8%
> GDP: $1.3 trillion ($33,222 per capita)
> Population: 38.0 million
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20. Austria
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 280.0 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $17.2 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 55.2%
> GDP: $497.4 billion ($56,030 per capita)
> Population: 8.9 million
19. Spain
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 281.6 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $17.3 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 19.9%
> GDP: $1.9 trillion ($40,986 per capita)
> Population: 47.1 million
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18. Lebanon
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 286.8 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $17.6 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 39.1%
> GDP: $99.8 billion ($14,552 per capita)
> Population: 6.9 million
17. United Kingdom
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 310.3 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $19.1 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 10.2%
> GDP: $3.1 trillion ($46,704 per capita)
> Population: 66.8 million
16. Saudi Arabia
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 323.1 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $19.9 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 3.9%
> GDP: $1.6 trillion ($46,962 per capita)
> Population: 34.3 million
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15. Uzbekistan
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 347.7 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $21.4 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 59.0%
> GDP: $235.0 billion ($6,999 per capita)
> Population: 33.6 million
14. Portugal
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 382.6 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $23.5 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 80.1%
> GDP: $359.0 billion ($34,962 per capita)
> Population: 10.3 million
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13. Kazakhstan
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 392.3 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $24.1 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 63.8%
> GDP: $487.9 billion ($26,351 per capita)
> Population: 18.5 million
12. Taiwan
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 423.6 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $26.0 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 4.2%
> GDP: $674.6 billion ($25,941 per capita)
> Population: 23.6 million
11. Turkey
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 515.2 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $31.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 35.3%
> GDP: $2.4 trillion ($28,289 per capita)
> Population: 83.4 million
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10. Netherlands
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 612.5 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $37.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 67.4%
> GDP: $985.4 billion ($56,849 per capita)
> Population: 17.3 million
9. India
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 687.8 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $42.3 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 6.5%
> GDP: $9.2 trillion ($6,700 per capita)
> Population: 1.4 billion
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8. Japan
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 765.2 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $47.0 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 3.1%
> GDP: $5.3 trillion ($41,667 per capita)
> Population: 126.3 million
7. Switzerland
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 1040.0 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $63.9 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 5.4%
> GDP: $586.5 billion ($68,394 per capita)
> Population: 8.6 million
6. China
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 1948.3 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $119.8 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 3.3%
> GDP: $22.5 trillion ($16,092 per capita)
> Population: 1.4 billion
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5. Russia
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 2295.4 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $141.1 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 22.0%
> GDP: $4.0 trillion ($27,044 per capita)
> Population: 144.4 million
4. France
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 2436.3 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $149.8 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 64.5%
> GDP: $3.1 trillion ($46,110 per capita)
> Population: 67.1 million
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3. Italy
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 2451.8 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $150.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 69.3%
> GDP: $2.6 trillion ($42,420 per capita)
> Population: 60.3 million
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2. Germany
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 3362.4 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $206.7 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 74.5%
> GDP: $4.5 trillion ($53,785 per capita)
> Population: 83.1 million
1. United States
> Gold reserves as of Feb. 2021: 8133.5 tonnes
> Value in U.S. dollars: $500.0 billion
> Gold as % of total foreign exchange reserves: 77.5%
> GDP: $20.5 trillion ($62,530 per capita)
> Population: 328.2 million
Methodology:
To determine the countries that control the world’s gold, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on national gold reserves from the World Gold Council. Countries were ranked based on the total tonnage (metric tons) of gold reported to the International Monetary Fund as of February 2021. We calculated the value of each country’s gold reserves in U.S. dollars using the gold price per ounce as of February 2021 of $1,742.85 from the ICE Benchmark Administration. Data on gold as a percentage of a country’s total foreign international reserves also came from the WGC and is current as of February 2021. Supplemental data on population, GDP, and GDP per capita came from the World Bank and are for 2019. GDP and GDP per capita figures are based on purchasing power parity and are in constant 2017 international dollars. Data on population, GDP, and GDP per capita for Taiwan came from the National Statistics Bureau of Taiwan.
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