Switzerland Leads In Gold Sales Among Central Banks Since 1993

Whenever I see someone refer to percentage of gold as part of a nation's foreign reserves, I immediately know that the person presenting that figure hasn't a clue as to what it really means.

So here is the scoop.
A high percentage of gold as part of a nation's foreign reserves typically signifies a negative balance of payments.
If a nation exports more in cash value than it imports, the percentage of gold as part of foreign reserves declines.

First thing to understand, GOLD IS NOT USED TO SETTLE INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTS.
US$ is the proverbial coin of the balance of payments settlement realm.

So one more time, more exports than imports = low percentage of gold as part of foreign reserves.
A high percentage usually equates to a high national debt load.
Look at the USA as a classic example.
Or just look at the ranking in the second spreadsheet and compare to national debt loads.

However gold holdings as a percentage of foreign reserves isn't the full story; it's just the first few chapters.