World Gold Council Survey 2026

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Recently, the World Gold Council released its 2026 survey.
The survey reveals that central banks are focusing more on gold for global reserve management.
This shift happens because of ongoing economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.

The World Gold Council has conducted this annual global survey since 2018 in partnership with YouGov.
The survey studies how central banks view gold and its importance in managing financial reserves.
Participation in this survey is completely voluntary and responses remain anonymous.
The results are studied together and separately for advanced and Emerging Market and Developing Economies based on IMF guidelines.

Central banks have doubled their gold buying to roughly 1,000 tonnes every year over the last four years.
This massive increase shows a permanent change in how countries manage their financial reserves.

Central banks now prefer gold for crisis protection, inflation hedging, and geopolitical risk mitigation.
Many central banks believe the share of the US dollar in global reserves will slowly decrease over time.
Countries are also placing much more importance on safety and diversification when storing their gold.

The World Gold Council works as the main market development organization for the worldwide gold industry to boost demand.
It started in 1987 and has its main office in London.
It functions as a nonprofit association whose members include the top gold mining companies of the world.
The council helped build major gold markets, including the Shanghai Gold Exchange which is now the biggest physical gold exchange globally.
It also supported the India Gold Spot Exchange started in 2022 to bring better clarity and market liquidity.