The Bank of Tanzania has accelerated its shift toward gold as a strategic reserve asset, holding a total of 8.3 trillion in reserves as of April 30, 2026. This includes 5.1 trillion in bullion gold and 3.1 trillion in monetary gold.
In the past, foreign currency marketable securities, mainly U.S. bonds and Treasury bills, formed the majority of Tanzania’s strategic foreign exchange reserves. However, by April 2026, they had fallen to second place, with a value of about 7.2 trillion.
Although domestic purchases of gold for reserves began in September 2024, the shift toward gold as a strategic reserve asset accelerated by August 2025, with purchases steadily increasing. Bullion gold now accounts for at least 60 percent of the country’s total gold reserves.
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Amid rising geopolitical risks, many central banks have increased their gold holdings as part of their reserve strategies. Some countries, such as France, have gone further by repatriating physical gold reserves back to their own territories instead of holding them abroad.
In its first-quarter 2026 analysis, the World Gold Council stated that geopolitical risks will continue to play a major role in central banks’ decisions to purchase gold.
“Geopolitics remain front and centre in our outlook for gold demand in 2026. Our view remains that investment and central bank demand will be supported by ongoing geopolitical risk, with further investment impetus from elevated inflation and persistent high gold prices,” the World Gold Council’s Q1 analysis reads.
Gold accounts for at least one-third of Tanzania’s exports and is regarded as one of the country’s strongest products for foreign exchange earnings and currency stabilisation.
