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For more than two decades, central banks have been gradually diversifying their reserve portfolios. Although the U.S. dollar remains the world’s dominant reserve asset, its share has been steadily declining as countries have added gold and expanded their currency portfolios.
And the main beneficiary of this shift has been gold, which has risen to account for nearly a quarter of total reserves, even though no single currency has come close to replacing the dollar.
The data is sourced from the IMF’s “Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves” (COFER) database and the IMF’s “International Liquidity” (IL) dataset.
The euro remains the second-largest reserve currency (14.1%), while the Japanese yen (4%), the British pound (3.1%), and the Chinese yuan (1.4%) together account for a relatively modest share.
Gold has emerged as the big winner
Gold’s share of global reserves has more than doubled since the early 2000s, reaching 24.5% in 2025.
Unlike reserve currencies, gold has no sovereign issuer and cannot be frozen or subject to sanctions by another government, making it increasingly attractive in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.
The sharp increase in 2024 and 2025 reflects both active purchases by central banks and higher gold prices, which have increased the value of existing holdings.
As geopolitical fragmentation continues, reserve diversification is likely to remain a key focus for central banks around the world.
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