YOUGovi

WORLDGOLD

COUNCIL

CentralBankGoldReservesSurvey

June2025

ExecutiveSummary

Centralbankshaveaccumulatedover1,000tofgoldineachofthelastthreeyears,upsignificantlyfromthe400-500taverageovertheprecedingdecade.1Thismarked

accelerationinthepaceofaccumulationhasoccurredagainstabackdropofgeopoliticalandeconomicuncertainty,whichhascloudedtheoutlookforreservemanagersand

investorsalike

Our2025CentralBankGoldReserves(CBGR)survey,conductedbetween25Februaryand20May,helpsusshinealightonthecontinuedimportanceofgoldreservemanagementinthesechallengingtimes.Thisyearweseta

newbenchmark,drawingin73responses2–thehighestsinceoursurveycommencedeightyearsago.Thesampleishighlyrepresentativeoftheoverallcentralbankcommunity,bothgeographicallyandintermsofgoldowned.

Andtheincreaseinparticipationisnotjustanumber;itisapowerfulsignalofengagementwithgoldamongstthecentralbankingcommunity.Theseresponsesadddepthtoourinsightsintoandunderstandingofgold’srolewithinreservemanagement.

Wewouldliketogivespecialthankstoallthecentralbankswhotookthetimetoparticipate3inthisyear’ssurvey.Yourengagementandthoughtfulcontributionsareincrediblyvaluable.

Keyhighlights

.Similartofindingsfromprevioussurveys,centralbankscontinuetoholdfavourableexpectationsongold.

Respondentsoverwhelmingly(95%)believethatglobalcentralbankgoldreserveswillincreaseoverthenext

12months.

.Thisyear,arecord43%ofrespondentsbelievethattheirowngoldreserveswillalsoincreaseoverthesameperiod.Interestingly,noneofourrespondentsanticipateadeclineintheirgoldreserves.

.Gold’sperformanceduringtimesofcrisis,portfoliodiversificationandinflationhedgingaresomekeythemes

drivingplanstoaccumulatemoregoldoverthecomingyear.Inaddition,gold’suniquecharacteristicsandroleasastrategicassetcontinuetobevaluedbycentralbanks:itsperformanceintimesofcrisis,abilitytoactasa

storeofvalue,anditsroleasaneffectivediversifier,continuetobecitedaskeyreasonsforanallocationtogold.

.Themajorityofrespondents(73%)seemoderateorsignificantlylowerUSdollarholdingswithinglobalreservesoverthenextfiveyears.Respondentsalsobelievethattheshareofothercurrencies,suchastheeuroand

renminbi,aswellasgold,willincreaseoverthesameperiod.

.Thesurveyhighlightedanuptickinrespondentswhoactivelymanagetheirgoldreserves,from37%in2024

to44%in2025.Whileenhancingreturnsremainedtheprimaryreasonforthis,riskmanagementleapfroggedtacticaltradingasthesecondmostselectedreason.

.TheBankofEnglandremainsthemostpopularvaultinglocationforgoldreservesamongstrespondents(64%);asignificantlyhigherpercentageofrespondentsreportedsomedomesticstorageofgoldreservesthisyear

thantheydidlastyear(59%in2025vs.41%in2024).Just7%ofrespondentsindicatedthattheyplantoincreasedomesticstorageofgoldreservesoverthenext12months.

1.Historicalgolddemandandsupplydata,Goldhub

2.Somesurveyquestionswerevoluntary.Asaresult,basesizesvaryacrosschartsdependingonthenumberofrespondentsforeachquestion.

3.TheCentralBankGoldReserves(CBGR)surveyisconductedontheconditionofanonymity.Unique,anonymisedlinkswereprovidedtothe

WorldGoldCounciltosendtotheircontactswithincentralbanksaroundtheworld.Centralbanksthatareundersanctionswerenotcontacted.

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202501

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202502

Perspectivesongoldreserves

Thisyear’ssurveyextendsthetrend:centralbankscontinuetoviewgoldfavourably,underscoringitsenduringappealandrelevanceamidahighlyuncertaingeopoliticalandeconomicenvironment.

Oursurveyshowsacontinuationofthetrenduncoveredinpreviousyears:centralbanksseegoldmakingupagrowingshareoftheirreserveportfolios.76%ofrespondentsbelievethatgoldwillholda(moderatelyorsignificantly)highershareoftotalreservesfiveyearsfromnow,upfrom69%lastyear.Responseswerealso

fairlyconsistentbetweencentralbanksinadvancedeconomiesandEMDE(emergingmarketsanddevelopingeconomies),withthemajorityanticipatingthattheproportionofgoldheldastotalreserveswouldbe

moderatelyhigherinfiveyears.

Chart1:Whatproportionoftotalreserves(foreignexchangeandgold)doyouthinkwillbedenominatedingold5yearsfromnow?

%

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

72%

66%

59%

46%

30%29%

20%

18%17%

4%

3%

3%

1%

4%5%6%6%3%7%

0%

Signi?cantlylowerModeratelylowerUnchangedModeratelyhigherSigni?cantlyhigher

2022202320242025

2025base:allcentralbanks(71);advancedeconomy(14);EMDE(57).2024base:allcentralbanks(68);advancedeconomy(23);EMDE(45).

2023base:allcentralbanks(57);advancedeconomy(13);EMDE(44).2022base:allcentralbanks(56);advancedeconomy(13);EMDE(43).

SeeNote1foradetailedexplanationoftheansweroptions.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

RespondentswerelesssanguineontheUSdollar.Whileitmaintainsitspositionasthedominantglobalreservecurrency,datafromtheIMF’sCurrencyCompositionofOfficialForeignExchangeReserves(COFER)showsthatitssharehasbeenonagradualdecline.4Andrespondentsbelievethatthistrendwillcontinue,with73%expectingitssharetobelowerfiveyearsfromnow.BothadvancedeconomyandEMDEresponseswerealignedinthisview.

4.IMFCurrencyCompositionofOfficialForeignExchangeReserves(COFER)

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202503

Chart2:Whatproportionoftotalreserves(foreignexchangeandgold)doyouthinkwillbedenominatedinUSdollars5yearsfromnow?

%

50%49%

45%

38%

28%

30%

28%

23%18%

13%

17%

14%

13%

4%

5%

4%

5%

3%

7%

6%

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Signi?cantlylowerModeratelylowerUnchangedModeratelyhigherSigni?cantlyhigher

2022202320242025

2025base:allcentralbanks(71);advancedeconomy(14);EMDE(57).2024base:allcentralbanks(68);advancedeconomy(23);EMDE(45).

2023base:allcentralbanks(57);advancedeconomy(13);EMDE(44).2022base:allcentralbanks(56);advancedeconomy(13);EMDE(43).SeeNote2foradetailedexplanationoftheansweroptions.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

Whenaskedabouttheirexpectationsforhowglobalcentralbankgoldreserveswillchangeoverthenext12months,respondentswerealmostunanimous.Arecord95%ofrespondentsbelievethatofficialgold

reserveswillcontinuetoincrease,upfrom81%lastyear.ThissentimentwasagainconsistentacrossbothadvancedeconomyandEMDErespondents.Thisfindingisparticularlynotablegiventhecolossal

goldaccumulationamongcentralbanksoverrecentyears.

Chart3:Howdoyouexpectglobalcentralbankgoldreservestochangeoverthenext12months?

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

95%

5%

81%

19%

71%

28%2

61%

5%4%

30%

5%

11%

52%

32%

8%

75%

18%

8%

54%

38%

IncreaseRemainunchangedDecreaseDon’tknow

2025base:allcentralbanks(73);advancedeconomy(15);EMDE(58).2024base:allcentralbanks(69);advancedeconomy(24);EMDE(45).

“Don’tknow”wasremovedasanoptionfromthe2023surveyonwards.Totalsmaynotsumto100%duetorounding.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

Inaddition,43%ofrespondentsalsothoughtthattheirowninstitution’sgoldreserveswouldriseoverthenextyear,upfrom29%in2024andmarkinganewrecordhigh.5Buthereweseeadivergenceinresponses,withEMDE

banksmoreinclinedtoaddgoldthantheiradvancedeconomycounterparts.NearlyhalfofEMDErespondentsthoughtthattheirowngoldreserveswouldincreaseinthenext12months,notablymorethanadvanced

economyrespondents.

5.Whileachangeinthesampleofrespondentsmaypartlyexplainthischange,consolidateddataprovidedbyYouGovindicateseven

whenanequivalentsampleisconsidered,amarkedlyhigherproportionofrespondentsbelievestheirowninstitution’sgoldreserveswouldincreaseoverthenext12monthscomparedtolastyear.

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202504

Chart4:Howdoyouexpectyourinstitution’sgoldreservestochangeoverthenext12months?

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

43%57%

29%68%3%

24%72%3%

25%70%5%

21%68%11%

20%57%4%20%

8%74%3%15%

IncreaseRemainunchangedDecreaseDon’tknow

2025base:allcentralbanks(72);advancedeconomy(14);EMDE(58).2024base:allcentralbanks(69);advancedeconomy(24);EMDE(45).

“Don’tknow”wasremovedasanoptionfromthe2023surveyonwards.Totalsmaynotsumto100%duetorounding.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

Takentogether,thesefindingsclearlyhighlightthatgoldsentimentwithinthecentralbankingcommunity

remainspositive.Expectationspointtocontinuedgoldbuyingoverthenext12months,reflectingsustainedconfidenceingold’sstrategicroleamidevolvinggeopoliticalandmacroeconomicdynamics.

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202505

StrategicConsiderationsinReservesManagement

Surveyrespondentscontinuedtorankeconomicandgeopoliticalfactorshighlyininfluencingtheirreservemanagementdecisions.Perhapsunsurprisingly,

gold’sroleasalong-termstoreofvalue,itsperformanceduringtimesofcrisis,anditsdiversificationpropertiesarekeyreasonswhycentralbanksholdgold.

Respondentswereaskedwhichtopicswererelevanttotheirreservemanagementdecisions;93%indicated“interestratelevels”–onaparwithlastyear’ssurvey.Otherfactorsthatrespondentsconsideredrelevant

include“inflationconcerns”and“geopoliticalinstability”.

WhilecentralbanksfrombothEMDEandadvancedeconomieswerealignedontheirconcernoverinterestrate

levels,therewasdivergencearoundinflationconcernsandgeopoliticalinstability.AhigherpercentageofEMDErespondentsbelievethatinflation(84%)andthegeopoliticalsituation(81%)remainstopofmind;whileamong

advancedeconomyrespondentsthesefigureswere67%and60%respectively.While59%oftotalrespondentsindicatedthat“potentialtradeconflicts/tariffs”arerelevanttotheirreservemanagementdecisions,alarger

percentageofthesecamefromEMDErespondents(69%)thanadvancedeconomyrespondents(40%).

Chart5:Whattopicsarerelevantforyourreservemanagementdecisions?

%

100

80

60

40

20

0

93%

93%

93%

81%

84%

77%

81%

10%

11%

12%

67%

60%

59%

40%

64%

41%

67%

34%

34%

27%

36%

27%

30%

20%

20%

33%

49%

40%

52%

2025:Advancedvs.EMDEresponses

8%

7%

9%

5%

7%

7%

0%

In?ation

concerns

Geopoliticalinstability

Potentialtrade

con?icts/

tari?s

Globalpoliticalpolarisation

Technologicalinnovation

Digital

currencies

Demographicchanges

Other

Concernsover

unexpected

shocks

Interestratelevels

ESGissuesShiftsinglobaleconomic

power

AllAdvancedEMDE

2025base:allcentralbanks(73);advancedeconomy(15);EMDE(58).

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202506

Whenaskedaboutrelevantfactorsintheirdecisiontoholdgold,85%ofrespondentsindicatedthatgold’s

performanceduringtimesofcrisisishighlyorsomewhatrelevanttotheirorganisation.81%ofrespondents

alsoindicatedthatgold’sattributeasaportfoliodiversifierisarelevantfactor;while80%highlighteditsroleasastoreofvalue.Theseresponsesreinforcegold’sappealasastrategicreserveasset.

Chart6:Howrelevantarethefollowingfactorsinyourorganisation’sdecisiontoholdgold?

Gold’sperformanceduringtimesofcrisis

Goldisane?ectiveportfoliodiversi?erGold’sroleasalong-termstoreofvalue/in?ationhedge

OurgoldholdingsisahistoricalpositionGoldhasnodefaultrisk

Gold’sroleasageopoliticalriskhedgeGoldaspartofreservesdiversi?cationpolicy

GoldisahighlyliquidassetGold’slackofpoliticalrisk

Concernsaboutsystemic?nancialrisksGoldservesasvaluablecollateralDomesticgoldproduction

Othercentralbanksholdgold AnticipatedchangesintheinternationalmonetarysystemGold’suseasapolicytool

Domesticcitizens’perceptionsaboutgoldConcernsaboutsanctions

44%41%8%7%

39%42%10%8%

36%44%14%7%

57%17%14%12%

46%25%24%5%

34%37%14%15%

37%32%15%15%

27%25%37%10%

10%39%20%31%

15%31%39%15%

22%20%25%32%

24%8%7%61%

12%19%32%37%

7%14%31%49%

8%12%20%59%

10%8%24%58%

7%10%19%64%

HighlySomewhatMarginallyNotrelevant

2025base:allcentralbanks(59);advancedeconomy(13);EMDE(46).

Rankedbyadding“highlyrelevant?and“somewhatrelevant?.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

ThisfindingwasfurtheranalysedacrossrespondentsfromEMDEandadvancedcentralbanks.40outof46

(87%)ofrespondentsfromtheEMDEgroupagreedthatgold’sperformanceintimesofcrisesisthemostrelevantfactorinholdinggold.Thiscomparesto10outof13(77%)ofrespondentsfromtheadvancedeconomygroup.Adivergenceoccurredwhenweaskedabouttherelevanceofgoldasageopoliticaldiversifier:36outof46(78%)ofEMDErespondentsratedthisfactorasrelevantcomparedtojust6outof13(46%)ofrespondentsinadvanced

economies.ThisresonateswiththerecenttrendinreportedcentralbankholdingswhereweseeastrongerappetiteforgoldaccumulationfromEMDEcentralbanks.

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202507

Chart7:Howrelevantarethefollowingfactorsinyourorganisation’sdecisiontoholdgold?(2024vs.2025).

Numberofresponses2025:Advancedvs.EMDEresponses

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

77%

87%

69%

83%

85%

80%

78%

46%

69%

72%

62%

72%

92%

69%

38%

57%

38%

52%

31%

50%

38%

43%

41%

0%

31%

30%

0%

26%

8%

24%

22%

22%

0%

8%

Performance

Long-term

E?ective

Servesasa

Nodefault

Diversi?cation

Historical

Highly

Lackof

Concerns

Servesas

Domestic

Other

Anticipation

Policytool

Concerns

Domestic

Partofde-

duringtimes

storeof

portfolio

geopolitical

risk

policy

position

liquid

political

about

valuable

gold

central

ofchanges

about

citizens’

dollarisation

ofcrisis

value/

in?ation

hedge

diversi?er

diversi?er

asset

risk

systemic

?nancial

risks

collateral

production

bankshold

gold

inthe

international

monetary

system

sanctions

perception

aboutgold

policy

AdvancedEMDE

(rhs)

2025base:allcentralbanks(59);advancedeconomy(13);EMDE(46).Rankedby“highlyrelevant”plus“somewhatrelevant”

basedon2025EMDEresponses.Note:“Diversificationpolicy”,“Othercentralbanksholdgold”and“Domesticcitizens’perceptionsaboutgoldwereaddedin2025,while“Partofde-dollarisationpolicy”wasremovedasanoption.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

Ifwecomparethistothesamequestioninlastyear’ssurvey,wecanseesimilarities.In2024,“performanceduringtimesofcrisis”washighlyratedasrelevantinholdinggold.However,gold’sroleasa“l(fā)ong-termstore

ofvalue”wasseenasmorerelevanttolastyear’ssample–andatthetime,centralbanksacrosstheworldwerebattlinghigherinflation.Nevertheless,consistencyinthetopthreerelevantfactorsshowsthatcentralbanks

acrosstheboardcontinuetorecognisegold’sstrategicroleinriskmanagement.

Numberofresponses2024:Advancedvs.EMDEresponses

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

90%

83%

82%

83%

78%

4%

4%

78%

7

67%

4%

67%

7

67%

%

67%

%

6

61

4%

62

5

4%

46%

4%

3%

3%

3%

4

4

3%

3

3

3

26%

3%

2

6%

1

0%

0%

0%

0%

Performance

Long-term

E?ective

Servesasa

Nodefault

Diversi?cation

Historical

Highly

Lackof

Concerns

Servesas

Domestic

Other

Anticipation

Policytool

Concerns

Domestic

Partofde-

duringtimes

storeof

portfolio

geopolitical

risk

policy

position

liquid

political

about

valuable

gold

central

ofchanges

about

citizens’

dollarisation

ofcrisis

value/

in?ation

hedge

diversi?er

diversi?er

asset

risk

systemic

?nancial

risks

collateral

production

bankshold

gold

inthe

international

monetary

system

sanctions

perception

aboutgold

policy

AdvancedEMDE

(rhs)

2024base:allcentralbanks(57);advancedeconomy(18);EMDE(39).Rankedby“highlyrelevant”plus“somewhatrelevant”

basedon2025EMDEresponses.Note:“Diversificationpolicy”,“Othercentralbanksholdgold”and“Domesticcitizens’perceptionsaboutgoldwereaddedin2025.

Source:YouGov,WorldGoldCouncil

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202508

TechnicalandOperationalConsiderationsofReservesManagement

Goldcontinuestobepredominatelymanagedseparatelybysurveyrespondents,whileGoodDeliveryBarsarethepreferredoptionwhenbuyingandholdingphysicalgold.AndtheBankofEnglandcontinuestobethefavouredgoldstoragelocation,buttheuseofdomesticstorageisrising.

Amongsurveyrespondents,75%managegoldseparatelyfromtheirotherreserveassets,anincreasefrom67%lastyear(Q18).Therewasaslightdecrease–from23%lastyearto17%thisyear–inrespondentswhomanage

goldintheinvestmenttranche.Whenitcomestowhytheymanagegoldseparately(Q19),goldasastrategicassetwasthetopresponse,with64%ofrespondentsselectingthisasareasonforseparatemanagement.Advanced

economyrespondentsunanimouslyselected‘Itisahistoricallegacyasset’asarelevantreason,comparedtoaroundhalfoftheEMDErespondents.Gold’sdifferentaccountingregimescomparedtootherassetclasseswasanother

instancewhererespondentsfromadvancedeconomiesandEMDEwerecompletelyaligned,with9%choosingthisoption;thisisadecreasefromthepreviousyear(13%).

LondonGoodDeliveryBarscontinuetodominatecentralbankers’purchaseofphysicalgold,with56%ofall

respondentspickingthisoption.WhenexaminingtheresultsbasedonEMDEandadvancedeconomyrespondents,63%ofEMDErespondentssaid“GoodDeliverybars”weretheirroutetopurchasephysicalgold,while31%of

advancedeconomyrespondentsagreed.EMDErespondentsalsoboughtgolddoréandkilobars,althoughtheseweremuchlesspopularoptions.Thiscouldrepresenthowgoldispurchasedthroughdomestic(LSMorASGM)

goldbuyingprogrammes,whichareinplaceinsomeemergingmarketcountries.6Similarly,LondonGoodDeliverybarsalsoremaintheprimarywayinwhichcentralbanksholdgold,with88%selectingthisoption.Respondents

inEMDEandadvancedeconomygroupsshowedasimilarpreference.

Thisyear,22%ofrespondentshaveconsideredupgradinggoldholdingsthatdonotconformtoGoodDelivery

standards,aslightincreasecomparedto19%inlastyear’ssurvey.Amongcentralbanksfromcountrieswithgoldproduction,whenaskedaboutconsiderationstoestablishadomesticgoldpurchaseprogramme,56%ofEMDE

centralbankerstoldusthatoneisalreadyinplace,while12%ofEMDErespondentsindicatedtheywereconsideringestablishingsuchaprogramme.14ofthecentralbankswithexistingdomesticbuyingprogrammesstatedthat

theyrefinedtheirgoldatanLBMAGoodDeliveryListrefinery,anincreasefrom11thepreviousyear.Anequalnumberofcentralbanks(10)indicatedthattheypaythespotinternationalgoldpricefortheirgold.Incontrast,ninecentralbankspayadiscounttotheinternationalgoldprice.

TheBankofEnglandcontinuestobethemostpopularlocationforvaulting(64%),anincreasefromtheprevious

year(55%).Buttheresultsalsoshowaninterestingshift,where59%ofcentralbankerspicked“domesticstorage”forwheretheycurrentlyvaultatleastpartoftheirgoldreserves,comparedtojust41%whochosethesame

optionlastyear.Itshouldbenotedthatonly8%ofrespondentschose“prefernottorespond”,downsignificantlyfrom28%lastyear.Thismayhaveledtoincreasesinresponsesintheotheroptions.Whenaskediftheircustody

arrangementshavechangedoverthepast12months,83%ofrespondentsindicated“nochange”.Althoughasmallpercentage,weseeaslightresurgenceof“diversifiedoverseasstoragelocations”asanoptionpickedbya

handfulofcentralbanks.Untilthisyear’ssurvey,thisoptionhadnotbeenselectedsince2022.Lookingforwardtothenext12months,mostrespondentssaidtheyhadnoplanstochangetheircustodialarrangements,although

7%indicatedtheywouldincreasetheirdomesticstorage;slightlymorethanthepreviousyear(2%).

Whenaskedifcentralbanksactivelymanagetheirgoldreserves,44%ofrespondentsansweredpositively–arecordhighsincewefirstcommencedourcentralbanksurveyin2018.Wealsoaskedabouttheirreasonsforactively

managingtheirgoldreserves:85%ofallrespondentsindicated“enhancingreturns”,while22%selected“riskmanagement”.Thelatterhasincreasedfrom14%in2024to22%in2025,while“tacticaltrading”hasseena

similar-sizeddeclineinresponsesyear-on-year.

6.CentralBankDomesticASGMPurchaseProgrammes,WorldGoldCouncil,April2021

CentralBankGoldReservesSurveyJune202509

Conclusion

ThisyearmarkstheeightheditionofourannualCentralBankGoldSurvey.Overthattime,aclearandconsistenttrendhasemerged:centralbanksincreasinglyviewgoldasanimportantstrategicassetwithint