![Change_in_gold_reserves_10_years](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Change_in_gold_reserves_10_years.jpg)
A gold reserve is the
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
held by a national
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...
, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay
depositors, note holders (e.g.
paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the
gold standard
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...
, and also as a
store of value, or to support the value of the national
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general def ...
.
The
World Gold Council estimates that all the gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, totalled 190,040
metric tons
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
in 2019
[How much gold has been mined?]
, World Gold Council but other independent estimates vary by as much as 20%. At a price of US, reached on 16 August 2017, one metric ton of gold has a value of approximately $40.2 million. The total value of all gold ever mined, and that is accounted for, would exceed $7.5 trillion at that valuation and using WGC 2017 estimates.
[One tonne is equal to approximately 32,150.75 troy ounces. Gold, silver, & other precious metals & gems are weighed by the troy ounce: 12 troy ounces = 1 troy pound (and not 16 to 1 as in the avoirdupois weight system)]
Wartime relevance
During most of history, a nation's gold reserves were considered its key financial asset and a major prize of war.
A typical view was expressed in a secret memorandum by the British
Chief of the Imperial General Staff from October 1939, at the beginning of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The
British Military
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...
and the
British Secret Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence ...
laid out "measures to be taken in the event of an invasion of Holland and Belgium by Germany" and presented them to the
War Cabinet:
The Belgian government transferred one-third of its gold reserves to the UK, another third to Canada and the United States and most of the remainder to southern France. Following the outbreak of war, the gold held in France was sent to
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
, the capital of
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, then part of the
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...
. This was against the Belgian Government's wishes, with the Belgians having directed the French to transfer it to the United States. After the Germans occupied Belgium and France in 1940, they demanded the Belgian gold reserve held in Senegal. In 1941,
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
officials arranged the transport of 4,944 boxes with 198
tonnes of gold to officials of the German
Reichsbank and the German Government used it to purchase commodities and munitions from neutral countries. The
Banque de France
The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...
fully compensated the
Belgian National Bank for the loss of its gold after the war.
IMF holdings
Since early 2011, the gold holdings of the
IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
have been constant at .
Officially reported holdings
The IMF regularly maintains statistics of national assets as reported by various countries. 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 announced that it increased its gold reserves by about 57 percent from 1,054 to 1,658 tonnes, while disclosing its official gold reserves for the first time in six years.
In July 2015, the State Bank of
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
stated that gold reserves totalled 10 tonnes. However, it was not ranked below due to the current absence of any published data.
In 2019, the
State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan
The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan or SOFAZ ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Neft Fondu (ARDNF)) is a sovereign wealth fund.
SOFAZ lacks transparency in its finances and in its contracting, which has raised questions about ...
(SOFAZ) extended the gold allocation limit from 5% to 10%, in accordance with the amendments made to the Investment Policy of the Fund for diversification purposes. However, the Central Bank of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
does not hold any gold.
The gold listed for each of the countries in the table may not be physically stored in the country listed, as central banks generally have not allowed independent
audit
An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...
s of their reserves.
Gold leasing
Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a way of diversifying risk, especially through the use of futures contracts and derivatives. The gold market is subject to speculation ...
by central banks could place into doubt the reported gold holdings in the table below.
* Notes
See also
*
Gold Reserve (company)
Gold Reserve Inc. is a gold mining company founded in 1956 with operations and mining property in Bolivar State, Venezuela.
The company is currently headquartered in Spokane, Washington.
As a part of a 2016 settlement based on a dispute over ...
*
Gold as an investment
*
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
*
Foreign exchange reserves
*
Inflation hedge
*
List of countries by gold production
This is a list of continent by gold production in 2018.
Until 2006, South Africa was the world's largest gold producer. In 2007, increasing production from other countries and declining production from South Africa meant that China became the l ...
*
Moscow gold
The Moscow Gold ( es, Oro de Moscú), or alternatively Gold of the Republic ( es, Oro de la República), was 510 tonnes of gold, corresponding to 72.6% of the total gold reserves of the Bank of Spain, that were transferred from their original ...
, the reserves of the
Bank of Spain
The Bank of Spain ( es, link=no, Banco de España) is the central bank of Spain. Established in Madrid in 1782 by Charles III of Spain, Charles III, today the bank is a member of the European System of Central Banks and is also Spain's national ...
sent to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
*
Romanian Treasure
The Romanian Treasure ( ro, Tezaurul României) is a collection of valuable objects and the gold reserves (~120 tonnes) of the Romanian government sent to Russia for safekeeping during World War I. After the Romanian Army entered Bessarabia, at ...
, the
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n gold reserves sent (alongside other valuable objects) to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
for safekeeping during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, but never returned
*
Silver as an investment
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...
*
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (United States)
*
United States Bullion Depository
The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located next to the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. It is operated by the United States Department of the Treasury. The vault is used ...
, often known as Fort Knox
*
Vaulted gold
Notes
References
{{Gold reserves by country, state=expanded
Reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
Reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...