Central banks are expected to continue increasing their gold reserves over the coming years as geopolitical tensions, inflation risks, and concerns over the long-term role of the U.S. dollar reshape global reserve management, according to a World Gold Council survey released Tuesday.
The 2026 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey found that 89% of reserve managers expect global central bank gold holdings to rise over the next 12 months. A record 45% said they expect their own institutions to increase gold reserves during that period, while most of the remaining respondents expect no change. Only 1% anticipate a decline. The survey was conducted between February 5th and May 19th and received 76 responses, the highest participation since the annual survey began nine years ago. The World Gold Council said most responses were submitted after the start of the latest Middle East conflict, offering a timely look at how central banks view gold during periods of geopolitical stress.
The World Gold Council said central banks have accumulated an average of around 1,000 tonnes of gold annually over the past four years. That is double the average of roughly 500 tonnes a year recorded during the previous decade.
This strong buying trend has helped support the gold market as prices climbed to record highs earlier this year. Although some analysts expect central bank demand to slow in tonnage terms in 2026, it is still forecast to remain well above pre-2022 levels. Shaokai Fan, global head of central banks at the World Gold Council, said the survey shows that official-sector confidence in gold remains exceptionally strong. “Central banks are still very positive on gold. In fact, more positive than ever,” Fan told Kitco News. The survey also found that 93% of respondents already hold gold, up from 81% a year earlier, underscoring the metal’s growing importance in official reserve portfolios.
Central banks continue to value gold for its traditional role as a safe-haven asset. A record 90% of respondents cited gold’s performance during times of crisis as a major reason for holding it. Other leading reasons included gold’s role as a long-term store of value and hedge against inflation, cited by 84% of respondents, and its portfolio diversification benefits, cited by 83% of respondents.
Gold’s function as a hedge against geopolitical risk was especially important among emerging-market and developing-economy central banks, with 85% of respondents in that group naming it as a key factor. Fan said the timing of the survey made these findings particularly significant. "The most relevant factor this year was gold’s performance during times of crisis,” he said. “If anything, it’s even more relevant than before.”
The survey also highlighted growing skepticism about the future role of the U.S. dollar in global reserves. 74% of respondents said they expect U.S. dollar holdings within global reserves to be moderately or significantly lower over the next five years. By contrast, central banks generally expect the shares of other major reserve currencies, including the euro and Chinese yuan, to remain broadly unchanged.
Gold, however, is expected to gain share. 84% of respondents said they expect gold to account for a larger share of global reserves within five years.
The World Gold Council said gold recently surpassed U.S. Treasuries as the world’s largest reserve asset, reflecting a significant shift in how official institutions manage national wealth.
Reserve diversification remains the main reason central banks plan to buy more gold. Of the 34 central banks that said they expect to raise gold holdings, 31 cited diversification as a key motivation. Other important reasons included the need to hedge against economic risks and concerns surrounding reserve-currency economies.
Fan said the base of central bank gold buyers is expanding. While emerging-market central banks remain the dominant purchasers, interest is increasingly spreading to a broader group of countries. "We're seeing newer central banks starting to emerge,” he said, pointing to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which have recently entered the gold market or resumed purchases after years of inactivity. The survey also found that 18% of advanced-economy central banks expect to increase their gold holdings over the next year, showing that interest is not limited to developing economies.
The 2026 survey also asked central banks how they intend to finance future gold purchases. Half of the respondents planning to add gold said they expect to do so through domestic purchase programs using local currencies. Another 38% said they plan to fund acquisitions by selling existing reserve assets. This suggests that some central banks are not only increasing gold holdings but also actively adjusting the composition of their reserve portfolios to make room for the metal.
The survey also showed changes in how central banks store their gold. The Bank of England remains the most popular vaulting location, cited by 57% of respondents. Domestic storage ranked second at 49%, followed by the Bank for International Settlements at 16%.
The Swiss National Bank saw its preference decline, falling to 6% from 12% in 2025. More central banks are also adjusting their storage strategies. 9% of respondents said they increased domestic gold storage over the past 12 months, up from 5% in last year’s survey. Another 10% said they diversified overseas storage locations, compared with 2% a year earlier. Looking ahead, 7% said they plan to increase domestic storage over the next 12 months, while 9% plan to diversify overseas storage locations. The World Gold Council said it did not ask central banks to specify the source of their gold in cases of repatriation.
The record participation in this year’s survey reflects how important gold has become in central bank discussions. Fan said more reserve managers are approaching the World Gold Council as they reassess their portfolios amid global uncertainty. “The number of conversations that we’ve been having over the past one or two years has definitely picked up,” he said. “More central banks are approaching us; new central banks are approaching us.”
The findings suggest that gold is increasingly viewed not as a passive legacy asset but as a strategic reserve asset. As uncertainty grows around geopolitics, inflation, and the future of the dollar-based reserve system, central banks appear set to keep gold at the center of their long-term reserve strategies.
