What the World's Central Banks Keep in Their Vaults
Central banks hold around $13.1 trillion in foreign currency reserves, and 57% of that pile is in US dollars. That single number is the quietest fact in international economics: almost every country on Earth insures itself, first and foremost, with American money. The Foreign Currency Reserves explorer lets you flip through every country's holdings since 1947. Here is what stands out.
The dollar's competition is not who you think
The euro is a distant second at 20% of allocated reserves. Then comes a surprise that surprises everyone the first time they see it: the Chinese renminbi — the currency of the world's largest exporter — trails both the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar in global reserve holdings, at under 2%.
| Currency | Share of allocated reserves (2026 Q1) |
|---|---|
| US dollar | 57.1% |
| Euro | 20.0% |
| Japanese yen | 5.4% |
| Pound sterling | 4.4% |
| Canadian dollar | 2.5% |
| Australian dollar | 2.1% |
| Chinese renminbi | 2.0% |
The United States does not need foreign money
Look up the US row and you find something almost nobody thinks about: America's reserves are nearly all gold — about 8,100 tonnes, roughly a quarter of all the official gold on Earth and more than twice the next-largest holder, Germany — with only a trivial slice of foreign currency. The country whose money everyone else stockpiles keeps almost none of anyone else's money.
China holds everything but its own currency
China runs the largest reserve pile on the planet at roughly $3.8 trillion — and by its own disclosure it holds zero renminbi in it. Reserves are what you spend to defend your own currency, so holding your own currency would be like buying insurance from yourself. Even so, the composition is striking: about 58% dollars, 21% euros, and the largest disclosed gold hoard of any central bank, over 2,300 tonnes and growing.
De-dollarization is happening — slowly, and at the edges
The loud headlines say the dollar's reserve share is collapsing. The data says something more modest. Russia, locked out of dollar markets since 2022, now holds only about 8% of its reserves in dollars. Switzerland keeps 37%. But the world total has drifted — not plunged — with the dollar still holding comfortably above half of everything allocated. Reserves change slowly because they are insurance, and insurers prize stability over cleverness.