There continues to be a gulf in thinking between
advanced economy and Emerging Market and
Developing Economy (EMDE) central banks on many
issues. This divergence of views is perhaps most
striking in terms of the outlook for the US dollar and
gold. Whereas 54% of advanced economy respondents
think the US dollar’s share of global reserves will
remain unchanged 5 years from now, only 20% of EMDE
respondents share this view. While 46% of advanced
economy respondents believe the US dollar’s share
of global reserves will fall, 58% of EMDE respondents
believe it will do so (Chart 2).
When asked about gold’s future share in global
reserves, 62% of advanced economy respondents
think that it will remain unchanged 5 years from now,
a view shared by only 20% of EMDE respondents. 38%
of advanced economy respondents think gold’s share
will rise while 68% of EMDE respondents believe it will
do so. In fact, a small proportion of EMDE central banks
think that gold’s share will rise above 25% (Chart 3) while
no respondents thought it would reach that level in last
year’s survey. EMDE central banks, which have been
the primary driver of gold buying since the 2008 global
nancial crisis, appear to more pessimistic about the US
dollar’s future and more optimistic about gold’s future.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
%
Less than 40%
2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023
Between 40-50% Unchanged Between 52-60% Greater than 60%
Total
Advanced EMDE
Chart 2: US dollars accounted for 51% of total reserves (foreign exchange and gold) in Q3 2022.
What proportion of total reserves (foreign exchange and gold) do you think will be denominated in
US dollars 5 years from now?
2023 Base: All central banks (57), Advanced economy (13), EMDE (44). 2022 Base: All central banks (56), Advanced economy (13), EMDE (43).
5%
50%
28%
14%
3%
0%
46%
54%
0% 0%
7%
4%
0%
5%
51%
38%
31%
40%
20%
30%
38%
28%
18%
23%
31%
21%
4%
5%
0%
7%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
%
Less than 10%
Between 10-14% Unchanged Between 16-25% Greater than 25%
Total
Advanced EMDE
Chart 3: Gold accounted for 15% of total reserves (foreign exchange and gold) in Q3 2022.
What proportion of total reserves (foreign exchange and gold) do you think will be denominated
in gold 5 years from now? Buying gold from domestic production reflected in the survey findings,
33% citing this factor and they are all EMDE.
2023 Base: All central banks (57), Advanced economy (13), EMDE (44). 2022 Base: All central banks (56), Advanced economy (13), EMDE (43)
In 2022, the response categories for this question were “Less than 10%”,“Between 10-13%”, “Unchanged”, “Between 15-25%”, and “Greater
than 25%” to reflect gold's proportion in total reserves at that time.
5%
3%
29%
59%
3%
0%
0%
61%
38%
0%
7%
4%
8%
2%
4%
20%
31%
16%
20%
30%
31%
30%
64%
46%
31%
51%
4%
0% 0% 0%
2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023
2023 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 3
