Which Countries Own the Most Gold?

 

Which Countries Own the Most Gold?

Gold has long been one of humanity’s most desirable resources. Gold’s importance to the global economy also appears to be growing. Despite the dominance of fiat money since the collapse of the gold standard, the precious metal is now the world’s second-largest reserve asset behind the United States dollar. 

But which countries own the most gold? To answer this question, we’ll need to take a closer look at how we define gold ownership. If we’re talking about which countries have the largest gold reserves, then the leaderboard includes the United States, Germany, Italy, France, and Russia, in that order. But where annual gold production is concerned, China, Russia, Australia, Canada, and then the United States are the top five.

If you’ve ever wondered how the USA stacks up to the rest of the world when it comes to our favorite yellow precious metal, you’ve come to the right place. On this page, learn the gold reserves and annual gold production rates of the top five countries in the world. 

Top 5 Countries With the Largest Gold Reserves

If you want to know which countries have access to the most physical gold, reserves are a great place to look. Typically, a country’s reserve is made up of a number of different assets, including currencies from around the world and physical precious metals like gold. Since the United States is younger and has had a valuable paper currency for less time than most other countries, it built up a sizable gold reserve since the early 1800s. 

In order, the top 5 countries with the largest gold reserves are:

1. The United States | 8,133.5 metric tons.
2. Germany | 3,351.2 metric tons.
3. Italy | 2,451.8 metric tons.
4. France | 2,437 metric tons.
5. Russia | 2,332.7 metric tons. 

Luckily for us, information about gold holdings by country is typically publicly available. Below, we’ll take a closer look inside the central bank vaults of these five countries to see how much gold they really own.

1. The United States

The United States has the largest gold reserve in the world, and it isn’t particularly close. The USA’s central banking system owns 8,133.5 metric tons of the precious metal. That’s over double the second-place country, Germany, which holds 3,351.2 metric tons of gold bullion in its vaults. 

Why does the U.S. have such a dominant hold on the world’s gold reserves?

First, the U.S. is a relatively new nation, at least compared to the other world powers. The country was only founded in 1776, which meant that it needed to trade in precious metals for quite some time before effectively establishing international credit and a workable fiat currency to pay down debts. 

Second, the U.S. has maintained its status as a world superpower for over two centuries. Its victories in World War One and World War Two, followed by its global leadership during what historians call the “unipolar moment” from the end of the Cold War until the mid 2010s allowed the country to build extreme wealth and expand its gold holdings.

2. Germany

Germany is the second largest holder of gold in the world, with a 2025 gold reserve of 3,351.2 metric tons. Germany’s long history as a nation has allowed it to develop one of the biggest gold reserves on the planet. Under Nazi rule during WW2, the country amassed even more gold, which some historians estimate would be worth over $22 billion today. 

Coincidentally, the collapse of Nazi Germany after World War II may have enriched the gold reserves of allied nations like the United States, France, and the Soviet Union (now Russia). While a vast quantity of Nazi gold was hidden in banks and dispersed throughout Europe, much of it was also taken by the Allies. In the years following the war, Germany’s gold reserves were slowly depleted to pay down debt from the fallout of the conflict.

3. Italy

During a period of growth following its post-WW2 recovery, Italy was able to accumulate a massive stock of gold for its central banks. Today, Italy is the third-largest gold owner in the world, with reserves sitting at 2,451.8 metric tons of the precious metal. In fact, Italy owns less than 400 metric tons of gold fewer than the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

Strong economic growth during the 20th century, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, helped to expand Italy’s gold holdings. As of 2025, Italy sits at third on our list of the countries that own the most gold in the world. 

4. France

Like the United States, France’s gold reserves grew in the aftermath of World War Two. The country now holds gold reserves totaling 2,437 metric tons, making it fourth on our list of the countries in the world that own the most gold. France’s long history of colonial exploitation also played a role in establishing its large gold reserves. 

The Banque de France considers maintaining a large quantity of gold to be a national priority, which has helped France remain a relevant world power on the global economic scene. While the country owns less than a third of the gold that the U.S. maintains in its central banking system, the country’s gold reserves are especially impressive given its size and relatively low per capita GDP. 

5. Russia

Another victor of World War Two, Russia is the fifth largest owner of gold in the world. Russia’s reserves include an impressive 2,332.7 metric tons of the yellow precious metal. More interestingly, gold only makes up 29.5% of the country’s forex reserves, compared to 74.9%, 77.1%, 74.1%, 74.7%, and 74.7% for the USA, Germany, Italy, and France, respectively. 

Although some analysts contend that Russia’s status as a world superpower began to wane in the period following the Cold War, Russia maintains one of the five largest gold reserves in the world, as of 2025.

Top 5 Gold Producers Globally

Interestingly enough, the top 5 producers of gold annually are quite a bit different when we instead consider which countries produce the most gold annually. Two countries, the United States and Russia, appear on both of our ranked lists, but the rest of these lists are entirely different. 

Using 2024 figures, the top five largest producers of gold in the world include:

1. China | 380 metric tons.
2. Russia | 310 metric tons.
3. Australia | 290 metric tons.
4. Canada | 200 metric tons. 
5. The United States | 160 metric tons.

1. China

China is the world’s fourth largest country by total landmass, and its climate and geography make it rife for gold mining. As of 2024, China produced a total of 380 metric tons of gold, making it the largest miner of gold on the planet. China’s gold mining efforts made up 11.5% of the total global production of gold in 2024, which was 3,300 metric tons. 

This country also leads the world in new mining technology. China leverages new advancements in gold mining tech to increase its yield of the precious metal, as well as the range of sites considered reliably minable. In 2024, China also discovered the world’s largest gold deposit, which was worth over $83 billion USD at the time, within its borders.

2. Russia

As the world’s largest country by total landmass, it should come as no surprise that Russia is a juggernaut among gold producers. Russia was the second largest producer of gold in 2024, mining a total of 310 metric tons of the precious metal. Russia’s mined gold accounted for 9.4% of the global total of 3,300 metric tons mined.

Aside from gold, Russia also produces a massive amount of platinum and palladium annually, making it a vital producer of precious metals in more ways than one.

3. Australia

Australia is a large mass of land with population centers largely localized to small, isolated spots of the country. This makes it a perfect setting for large-scale gold mining operations, and this fact is reflected in the country’s annual gold production numbers. Australia produced 290 metric tons of gold in 2024, accounting for 8.8% of total global production and making it the third-largest producer of the precious metal in the world. 

The country’s wild frontiers have also been host to some of the largest gold nugget discoveries in human history. Even Australia’s national gold bullion coin, the Australian Gold Kangaroo, was originally named the Australian Gold Nugget to reference the country’s strong history of gold mining and panning. 

4. Canada

Canada is the world’s second-largest country behind Russia, and it’s the fourth-largest producer of gold on the planet, as of 2024. Last year, Canada produced 200 metric tons of gold, which is 6.1% of global output for 2024. Like Australia, Canada’s history has been closely linked with the valuable precious metal. The Klondike Gold Rush, famously depicted on the Canadian Klondike Gold Coin, was a historic moment that bookended over a century of gold rushes in the country’s untamed mountains and tundra. 

5. The United States

The United States clocks in as the world’s third largest country by landmass and serves as the fifth largest producer of gold, as of 2024. The U.S. produced 160 metric tons of gold in 2024, which was 4.8% of the total gold produced all around the world. While the U.S. does have one of the largest landmasses on the planet, the country’s spread-out population makes it difficult to begin new mines in some heavily populated regions that may be teeming with gold beneath the surface.

Final Thoughts: Which Countries Own the Most Gold?

Especially today, gold is one of the world’s most valuable precious metals. And for countries looking to maintain financial independence and economic strength, maintaining healthy gold reserves may be a vital priority for both monetary policy and national security. On this page, we took a closer look at the top five gold-owning countries in the world, as well as the five biggest annual producers of gold on the planet. 

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