A combination of rising gold prices and continued purchases by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pushed the value of India's official gold holdings to $115.8 billion, nearly doubling over the past two years.

Gold accounted for 17 percent of India's foreign exchange reserves during the last six months, up from 12 percent in the corresponding period a year earlier, reflecting both valuation gains and a gradual diversification of reserve assets away from traditional foreign currencies.

The increase has been driven as much by prices as by purchases. Gold has rallied from around $2,000 an ounce in early 2024 to above $4,000 an ounce in 2026, sharply increasing the dollar value of central bank holdings worldwide.

India is far from alone.

Central banks across emerging markets have continued accumulating gold despite record prices, viewing the precious metal as a hedge against geopolitical uncertainty, financial sanctions and currency volatility while reducing dependence on reserve assets denominated in major foreign currencies.

The shift gathered pace after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, prompting many central banks to reassess reserve management strategies amid a more fragmented geopolitical landscape.

Post-Ukraine war buying accelerates

Some of the most aggressive accumulation has taken place in Europe.

Poland's purchases occurred in two distinct phases. The first came around the COVID-19 pandemic, when holdings rose from 128.6 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019 to 228.7 tonnes in the first quarter of 2020.

After remaining broadly unchanged for nearly three years, Poland launched a second and much larger buying programme following the Ukraine war. Holdings climbed from 228.7 tonnes in Q1 2023 to 581.6 tonnes in Q1 2026, an increase of roughly 353 tonnes in just three years.

The accumulation reflects Warsaw's effort to strengthen reserve resilience during a period of heightened security concerns in Europe.

China has followed a similar trajectory.

After keeping official reserves broadly unchanged at around 1,948 tonnes between 2020 and 2022, Beijing resumed purchases in 2023. Holdings increased to 2,068 tonnes in Q1 2023 before reaching 2,313 tonnes by Q1 2026, representing an increase of around 245 tonnes over three years.

The Czech Republic recorded one of the fastest percentage increases.

Its gold reserves rose from 13.5 tonnes in Q1 2023 to 76.6 tonnes in Q1 2026, reflecting a more than five-fold increase as the country's central bank rebuilt its bullion holdings.

The pattern suggests that the post-2022 geopolitical environment has reinforced gold's role as a strategic reserve asset among central banks.

RBI's steady gold accumulation

India has steadily increased its gold holdings over the past decade as part of the RBI's long-term reserve diversification strategy.

Official gold reserves rose from 557.8 tonnes in Q1 2015 to 880.5 tonnes in Q1 2026, an increase of around 323 tonnes, or 58 percent, over the period.

The pace of accumulation became more pronounced after 2019.

Holdings increased from 612.6 tonnes in Q1 2019 to 653 tonnes in Q1 2020, before rising to 695.3 tonnes in 2021, 760.4 tonnes in 2022, 794.6 tonnes in 2023, and continuing higher thereafter.

The steady accumulation, combined with the sharp rally in bullion prices, has substantially increased gold's contribution to India's reserve portfolio.

Emerging markets lead the gold rush

According to the World Gold Council's 2025 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey, central banks continue to regard gold as a strategic reserve asset because of its role as a long-term store of value, portfolio diversifier and hedge during periods of geopolitical and financial stress.

The buying has been led overwhelmingly by emerging-market economies.

Besides India and China, Turkey increased official gold holdings from 116 tonnes in 2015 to 535 tonnes in 2026, while Kazakhstan expanded reserves from 198 tonnes to 354 tonnes and Uzbekistan from 275 tonnes to 416 tonnes.

Other countries have also stepped up purchases.

Egypt increased holdings from 76 tonnes to 130 tonnes, Qatar from 12 tonnes to 115 tonnes, Hungary from just 3 tonnes to 110 tonnes, and Serbia from 18 tonnes to 54 tonnes. Smaller but notable increases were also recorded in the Czech Republic, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia.

Advanced economies stand pat

Not every major reserve holder has been buying aggressively.

Saudi Arabia has maintained relatively stable gold reserves of around 323 tonnes, relying instead on its large stock of foreign currency assets generated through oil exports.

Likewise, major advanced economies, including the United States, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, continue to hold some of the world's largest official gold reserves but have made few meaningful additions in recent years.