Members of the BRICS+ trading bloc now own more than 6,000 tons of gold. This is about 17.4% of all world official reserves. For comparison: in 2019, the block\u2019s share was only 11.2%.<\/p>\n\n\n
Russia remains the absolute leader in reserves – 2336 tons. China has 2298 tons, India – 880 tons. Together, Moscow and Beijing control almost three-quarters total gold<\/a>, which is kept by the countries of the association.<\/p>\n\n\n Between 2020 and 2024, BRICS+ central banks bought more than half of all gold purchased by the world’s states. In the first nine months of 2025, they added 663 tons of precious metal to their vaults\u2014approximately $91 billion. Brazil, which has not bought gold since 2021, purchased 16 tons in September 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n What’s behind this race? EBC experts attribute the sharp acceleration to the West freezing approximately $300 billion of Russian reserves in 2022. After that, annual gold purchases by central banks jumped from 500 tons to more than 1,000 tons in each of the next three years. Gold<\/a>, stored in its own underground vaults, can neither be blocked through the SWIFT system nor confiscated.<\/p>\n\n\n At the same time, the share of the dollar in world reserves is declining. It fell from 71% in 1999 to about 57% by the end of 2025, the lowest since 1994, according to the IMF. At the same time, central banks are not selling dollar assets, their reserves are simply growing faster at the expense of the euro, yen, gold and other currencies.<\/p>\n\n\n Gold’s share of official reserves has risen from less than 10% in 2015 to more than 23% now. Of course, the rise in metal prices also played a role here. But the main thing is that central banks are deliberately increasing the share of precious metals in their portfolios, and the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has only strengthened this trend.<\/p>\n\n\n Saudi Arabia stands apart. The kingdom has 323 tons of gold – just 2.6% of its huge reserves (more than $500 billion). If Riyadh decides to increase the share of gold to at least 5%, it will have to buy a volume equal to the entire forecasted demand of central banks for 2026. Saudi Arabia has not yet announced such plans, but its membership in BRICS+, participation in the mBridge platform and growing ties with China point to a strategic shift that would logically include gold.<\/p>\n\n\n The World Gold Council forecasts central bank purchases of 750-850 tonnes this year. This is still well above the historical norm. This volume is about 20% of annual global production, and these tons go into reserves almost regardless of price.<\/p>\n\n\n