Africa’s central banks are strengthening buffers, and they are shifting reserves strategy in 2025.
Reserves rose to $530 billion, up from $480 billion in 2024, the Africa Finance Corporation reports.
Africa’s Rising Reserves And Policy Shift
As a result, the $50 billion increase reflects favourable markets and deliberate policy changes.
Gold Drives Diversification Strategy
At the same time, gold sits at the centre of this shift across the continent.
Higher global prices lifted asset values, and central banks increased physical gold holdings.
Consequently, gold holdings grew from 663 tonnes in 2022 to about 738 tonnes.
Gold now accounts for about 17% of reserves, rising from under 10% recently.
Meanwhile, Egypt, Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are leading efforts to expand gold reserves.
Therefore, central banks are turning to gold to protect against inflation and currency volatility.
In addition, this strategy reduces reliance on traditional reserve currencies during global shocks.
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The Africa Finance Corporation describes this as a structural shift in reserve management across Africa.
Nigeria Reflects Mixed Outlook
Nigeria reflects both progress and ongoing pressure in reserve performance.
Reserves rose to $45.5 billion by end-2025, up from $40.8 billion earlier.
Looking ahead, projections suggest reserves could reach $51.04 billion in 2026.
However, reserves fell to $48.6 billion by mid-April 2026.
This decline shows how external pressures can quickly affect reserve levels.
Even so, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves rose to $34.80 billion in 2025.
This improvement signals stronger underlying liquidity despite short-term fluctuations.
Overall, gold is becoming central to reserve diversification strategies across Africa.
As a result, central banks are prioritising stability in an uncertain global environment.
