A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
The National Bank of Poland emerged as the world’s largest buyer of gold in 2025, underscoring the continued strategic importance of the metal for central banks amid record prices, according to the World Gold Council’s annual report.
Poland’s central bank added 102 tonnes of gold during the year, lifting its total holdings to 550 tonnes. Gold now accounts for 28% of the country’s total reserves, close to the revised target allocation of 30%, which was raised from 20% in October.
In January, Governor Adam Glapiński indicated that reserves could be increased further to 700 tonnes for “national security reasons”, although no timeline was specified.
Overall, central banks bought a combined 863 tonnes of gold in 2025. While this represented a slowdown from the more than 1,000 tonnes purchased annually in each of the previous three years, it remained significantly above the long-term average of 473 tonnes recorded between 2010 and 2021. The World Gold Council noted that buying stayed resilient despite gold prices reaching multiple record highs during the year.
In total, 22 central banks increased their gold reserves by around a tonne or more in 2025, with seven institutions accounting for the bulk of purchases.
Alongside Poland, the National Bank of Kazakhstan was a major buyer, adding 57 tonnes over the year, its largest annual increase on record. Brazil’s central bank re-entered the market after a four-year absence, purchasing 43 tonnes, while the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan acquired 38 tonnes during the first three quarters of the year.
Turkey remained a steady buyer, adding 27 tonnes, lifting its total holdings to 644 tonnes and the People’s Bank of China increased its reserves by 27 tonnes in 2025.
The Czech National Bank also featured among the larger buyers, purchasing 20 tonnes during the year.
Total reserves now stand at 72 tonnes against a stated 2028 target of 100 tonnes, the annual report said.
The report highlighted that, beyond these large buyers, a long tail of smaller and more modest purchases continued to support overall demand. It also pointed to substantial unreported buying, with estimates suggesting that more than half of total central bank demand in 2025 was not immediately disclosed.
Looking ahead to 2026, the World Gold Council expects central bank demand to remain solid at levels close to those seen in 2025.
“Several major central banks have indicated plans to boost their gold reserves over the next few years, demonstrating their ongoing effort to diversify and manage risk,” the report said.
Persistent economic and geopolitical uncertainty, combined with the role of gold as a strategic reserve asset, is likely to continue underpinning official sector purchases.