| Updated: August 29, 2024In this report you will find the most recent statistics (updated for 2024) on the global forex trading market, including turnover, average daily trading volume, the most popular currency pairs and the main participants in the forex market. Whether you are new to forex trading or conducting market research, these statistics will give you a clear overview of the market’s size, turnover, and regulatory environment.
Not only is the Forex market one of the biggest financial markets in the world, but it is also one of the most liquid sectors, with millions of traders, financial institutions, and non-bank entities actively participating in the Forex market on a daily basis. To give you a better understanding of the scope of this sector and its exponential growth, we have compiled a list of key statistics that focus on the global Forex market.
From Forex trader archetypes to currency pairs and trading platforms, we have covered all of the factors that make the Forex market a force to be reckoned with. We will also take a look at the effect of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the Forex sector. While other markets suffered devastating losses, the Forex industry, and the overall trading sector, saw exponential growth during the lockdown period due to increased volatility that resulted from the surge in daily and monthly active traders.
With online brokers being a major contributor to the growth of the global Forex sector, we will take a look at leading trading companies that are currently dominating the Forex industry. We will also take a look at the regions and cities where Forex trading is most popular, paying attention to areas where Forex is expected to grow significantly as trading companies are looking for ways to expand their businesses.
Key Historical Events in Forex Trading
- While the Bretton Woods agreement of 1914 did introduce a legal system for currency trading between 44 countries, the Forex industry had its beginning way before that. The first gold coins were created in the 6th century BC. In 1819, England officially adopted the gold standard, with America following England’s steps and adopting the gold standard in 1834. Countries like France, Japan, and Germany also joined the others and accepted the gold standard in the 1870s.
- In 1985, the Plaza Accord agreement was signed between France, West Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US. In accordance with the agreement, the US dollar depreciated in relation to the French franc, the German Deutsche mark, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.
- Another important agreement in Forex history is the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which established the European Union (EU) and the euro currency.
- In 1996, online Forex trading made trading currencies way more accessible, with several online brokers offering traders competitive prices on many currencies they could not easily trade before. MetaTrader was the first trading platform that was developed for the purpose of making online trading easy and accessible to a larger number of traders.
Size of the Global Forex Market
To help you grasp the immense size of the global Forex trading market, we would like to start by noting that its worth for 2020 was evaluated to be $2.4 quadrillion.
The total foreign exchange turnover reported by BIS (Bank for International Settlements) for April 2022 amounted to $7.6 trillion per day, with the total amount consisting of turnover of $2.1 trillion of spot trades, $3.8 trillion of Forex swaps, $1.2 trillion of outright forwards, $194 billion of currency swaps, and $304 billion of options and other Forex products.
Forex Daily Turnover for April 2022 (in billion US$)
Source: www.bis.org
When comparing the data for April 2022 to numbers reported for 2019, we can see that the Forex markets saw a 14% growth compared to the $6.6 trillion daily traded volume for April 2019. Unfortunately, when comparing all triennial Surveys carried out by BIS, the Forex market expansion in 2022 was the lowest, except for two previous surveys issued since 2004. The major increase in Forex turnover coincided with the growing Forex volatility that resulted from expectations about the changing interest rates in major economies, geopolitical tension, and increasing commodity prices.
Forex Daily Turnover Net-Net Basis for April 2019 (in billion US$)
Source: www.bis.org
Forex Turnover Total Net-Gross Basis for April 2019 (in billion US$)
Source: www.bis.org
According to BIS, the OTC interest rate derivatives turnover amounted to a daily average of $5.2 trillion in April 2022. This indicated a 19% decline compared to data from the previous Triennial in April 2019. The reason for that drop was most likely the decline in Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs) turnover, which resulted from the Lubor reference rates that affected contracts linked to the US dollar at the end of 2021.
FX and Interest Rate Turnover 2004 – 2022 (in trillions USD)
Source: Banco Central Chile based on BIS Triennial Surveys
Forex Market Growth in 2022 by Instruments
Factors like the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine as well as global pandemic restrictions preventing major reporting jurisdictions like China and Hong Kong from properly assessing local Forex markets have affected the global Forex turnover, there have been enough data to indicate which instruments had the biggest impact on the Forex market expansion in the period between 2019 and 2022.
The two instruments that were the biggest contributors to the Forex sector’s growth were Spot trading and Forex swaps. In 2022, Forex spot markets accounted for 28% of the global Forex turnover, marking a 2% decline from the share reported in 2019. Similar to the data in the previous triennial report, the 2022 survey revealed that Forex swaps represented the biggest contributor, accounting for 51% of the global turnover. This amount surpassed the 2019 numbers, marking a 4% growth.
The market share of outright forwards traded in 2022 was 15%, which was the same volume recorded in 2019. BIS reported a 4% share of the global turnover for Forex options in 2022, a slight decline from 5% in 2019. Currency swaps accounted for 2% of the global forex market growth in 2022, which was the instrument’s share in 2019, as well.
Forex Turnover for April 2022 by Instruments
Source: www.bis.org
Forex Turnover for April 2019 by Instruments
Source: www.bis.org
Currencies and Currency Pairs Contributing to Forex Market Growth
In 2022, the USD remained the currency with the highest impact on the global Forex market, being on one side of 88% of currency pairs traded in April 2022. The trading volume of the currency remained the same compared to data from April 2019. The USD was followed by EUR, JPY, and GBP, representing the remaining currencies that marked the highest trading volumes in April 2022. The biggest change in market share for April 2022 was spotted with the CNY, being a part of 7% of currency pairs traded in April 2022, a surge from 4% recorded in April 2019.
As for most traded currency pairs, the USD/EUR remained the pair with the highest trading volume in April 2022, accounting for 22.7% of the global Forex market turnover. This marked a slight decline from 24% in April 2019. The next several pairs that saw the biggest trading volumes in April 2022 were USD/JPY, USD/GBP, and USD/CNY.
A total of seven currency pairs have been established as the major Forex pairs to trade, often offering higher leverage and lower spreads to traders. These seven pairs comprise over 60% of the global Forex turnover for April 2022, with the predominant number of trades happening only in these major pairs. All seven most-traded pairs have the USD on either side of the tickers.
Major Currency Pairs’ Contribution to Forex Turnover for April 2022
Source: www.bis.org
Volatility of Forex Trading Compared to Other Trading Assets
Despite the US dollar experiencing a fall following its big rally in 2022, it still remained the most traded currency in 2023, contributing to a significant increase in Forex volatility in 2023. In a survey published by eToro, one of the biggest broker names in the Forex sector, for the Q1 of 2023, Forex trades surged to 19%, marking a significant year-to-year jump from 9% reported for Q1 of 2022.
While Forex trades saw a great increase in volatility in Q1 2023, other assets were also serious contributors to the surge in investments for that period. According to eToro’s analysis, investments in commodities surged to 27%, marking an 11% growth from the previous year. Meanwhile, investors with foreign bonds gained to reach 17% (12% for Q1 2022) and those with alternative investments increased from 21% to 23%. Despite the great performance in other asset groups, however, in Q1 2023, one of the best performers was still the crypto market, remaining in its steady position with 29%.
eToro’s Percentage of Investors by Asset Type (Q1 2023)
Source: www.etoro.com
Forex Trading Participants
Being the biggest market, it is only natural that the Forex sector has multiple participants that fall into different demographic groups. As long as the legislative framework allows such activities, any individual with reasonable capital can be a retail trader and participate in the Forex market by placing orders on major, minor, or exotic currency pairs. However, beyond the retail trader, the Forex sector also has other major participants like the major commercial banks JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Barclays, and HSBC.
Data from June 2020 revealed that JP Morgan was the leading Forex market trading service entity, with a market share of 10.78%. The major bank maintained its position from the previous year when it had the biggest market share among the remaining banks participating in the global Forex market.
Bank’s Forex Market Share 2020
Source: www.euromoney.com
In 2021, JPMorgan managed to stay in the top position, still keeping the biggest market share among other major banks actively participating in the global Forex market. With a market share of 11.41%, the bank took the first place in the ranking, followed by UBS (10.2%), Deutsche Bank (8.49%), XTX Markets (6.69%), and Citi (6.18%).
Bank’s Forex Market Share 2021
Source: www.euromoney.com
2022 saw a shift in the top positions of banks with the biggest market share in the global Forex sector, with Deutsche Bank taking the top position with a market share of 10.89%. Meanwhile, JPMorgan, which was the biggest shareholder for several consecutive years, declined to the third position. UBS kept its second position, while State Street moved from the ninth position way up to the fourth place in the global Forex market.
Bank’s Forex Market Share 2022
Source: www.euromoney.com
As key actors in the Forex market, the banks we have listed above conduct currency trading on behalf of themselves as well as their clients.
Other major participants in the Forex sector include Central Banks like the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, etc. The role of these institutions is to intervene in the Forex market, ensuring the stabilization or increase of the value of their national currencies. Hedge funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and big multinational corporations can also be categorized as key participants in the global Forex market.
Forex Trading Demographic
Typically, males are the predominant participants in the global Forex trading sector, with women representing merely 12.4% of all traders in the market. Since the establishment of the Forex market, males have been the dominating gender participating in currency pair trading. That said, more females are starting to engage in Forex trading and investments. While the numbers can differ depending on the region, we have data from a few major Forex brokers to support the statement that males are still the bigger part of active Forex traders.
A 2019 report issued by eToro showed that around 88% of their global users for that year were males. The following year, a 2020 survey conducted by AvaTrade revealed that approximately 15% of their Forex customers were female traders. Meanwhile, in 2021, IG Group reported data showing that around 90% of the clients for that year were male traders, with just 10% of their Forex clients being females.
When it comes to age, the majority of Forex traders are in the age group between 25 and 34. Individuals between 35 and 44 years represent the group with the second-highest trading activity, followed by traders between the ages of 18 and 24. The lowest trading activity is among individuals between 55 and 64 as well as those over 65 years.
Forex Trading Activity Among Different Age Groups
Source: www.dailyforex.com
According to a survey carried out by eToro, younger traders between the ages of 18 and 34 are more active and bullish, mainly due to the fact that they use social media to do their investment research. Some 42% of respondents have reported they trade to achieve financial independence. About 40% of young investors are also more likely to take a more active approach to trading, with 65% of respondents defining themselves as bullish traders. Some 34% of survey participants revealed that social media is their main source of investment information.
When comparing different types of social media outlets, it has been reported that the majority of investors prefer to get their information from financial websites. Facebook is the second-most preferred social media outlet that traders use to get updated on the latest Forex trends.
Social Media Outlets Forex Traders Resort To
Source: www.dailyforex.com
In an AvaTrade survey carried out in 2019, with 1,000 participants from Canada giving their opinion on Forex brokers, it was revealed that the majority of traders above the age of 35 years considered unregulated brokers to be riskier, leading to easier money losses. However, 32% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 believed they could easily lose more money when trading with regulated brokers who impose low leverage limits.
About 91% of participants in the survey reported they were trading with regulated Forex brokers. Some 94% of high-volume investors with a yearly income of over CA$100,000 said they preferred regulated platforms while only 83% of respondents with a yearly income of less than CA$50,000 considered regulated brokers to be safer.
In an eToro survey covering Q1 of 2023, it was reported that despite the ongoing geopolitical tension, investors were more confident in their portfolios, diversifying their investments and focusing more on foreign markets. For the Q1 of 2023, 76% of respondents reported being confident in their portfolios, which is a 7% increase from the 69% of confident investors reported for the same period of the previous year. About 44% of eToro’s clients have increased their investments in 2023, with the predominant part of these investors falling under the category of wealthier and younger traders.
Traders’ preferences for home markets vs foreign markets have shifted in the last few years, with several factors giving investors the confidence to diversify their portfolios. In Q1 2023, the percentage of global investors focusing on domestic equities dropped to 45%, compared to 51% reported in Q1 2022. The shift from domestic to foreign equities is most noticeable in the US, with the percentage of US traders investing in domestic equities declining to 42% in Q1 2023, compared to 60% in Q1 2022.
When it comes to geographic distribution, some countries have a more concentrated percentage of Forex traders than others. According to data published by VT Markets, a global multi-asset CFD broker, Asia is the region with the highest number of online Forex traders, with 3.2 million Asian investors trading currency pairs. Europe and North America are also some of the bigger Forex trading markets in the world, with each of the two regions reporting 1.5 million traders. Africa and the Middle East also fall under the category of regions with a high number of Forex traders while the least number of traders are based in Oceania.
Numbers of Forex Traders by Region
Source: VT Markets
Despite Asia being the region with the highest number of Forex traders, the country that boasts the biggest concentration of investors trading currency pairs is located in Europe. With a total of 341,000 traders, the United Kingdom ranks as the country with the most Forex investors. The United States takes the second place with 335,000 traders, followed by Japan (223,000), Singapore (218,000), and Hong Kong (200,000).
Top 10 Countries with Most Forex Traders
Source: VT Markets
Gaining Profit from Forex Trading and Most Successful Traders in the World
While it is not necessary to be a wealthy investor to trade currency pairs, the majority of global Forex traders fall under the category of somewhat wealthy investors. According to statistics, on average, professional traders enjoy an increase in funds between 5% and 15% per month.
- George Soros is one of the wealthiest Forex traders in the world, with the so-called “Black Wednesday” being one of the biggest earnings in his Forex endeavors. On Wednesday, September 16, 1992, Soros took an extremely risky and massive short position against the British pound, which earned him $1 billion. As of December 2023, Soros’ net worth has been estimated to be $6.7 billion.
- Stanley Druckenmiller is another top Forex trader, who has been recognized for his skills and knowledge by George Soros. He was also a part of the Black Wednesday trade, bringing both him and Soros massive earnings of $1 billion. As of 2023, Druckenmiller’s net worth has been estimated to be $6.4 billion.
- Another representative of the wealthy group that banked on the success of “Black Wednesday” is Joe Lewis. Not only did he stack a hefty earning in 1992, but he was also extremely successful in his short-selling of the Mexican peso in 1995. Currently, Joe Lewis’ net worth is estimated at $6.4 billion.
Despite investors like the aforementioned billionaires giving off the illusion that it is extremely easy to earn billions while trading currencies, it has been reported that only 37% of traders break even or enjoy some profit. Meanwhile, some 15% of Forex traders reported making an actual profit from their trading.
Forex Trader Preferences and Trading Experience
Based on data released in 2020, the average trading experience of the predominant part of the global Forex brokers’ client base is between 1 and 3 years (39% of respondents). The second-largest group includes traders with experience of between 0 and 12 months. Surprisingly, well-experienced Forex traders are fewer, with those having 10+ years of experience representing only 7% of all Forex traders.
About 72% of Forex traders start trading currency pairs without having any trading experience beforehand. That said, 70% of Forex traders use Live trading accounts, while 30% have resorted to the use of Demo accounts to practice their trading.
Forex Traders Based on Their Trading Experience
Source: ForexSchoolOnline
While many Forex brokers tend to offer their clients multiple trading platforms, the majority will most definitely offer their customers the option to trade on MT4. The platform is equally suitable for both beginners and experienced traders, making it the popular choice for 85% of Forex traders. Meanwhile, some 6% of respondents have chosen the MT5 platform and 5% have picked cTrader for their Forex trades. About 23% of correspondents have reported trading currency pairs with other trading platforms.
As far as the volume of trades goes, on average, 41% of traders make between nine and 20 trades within a single month. Another 35% place between four and eight orders per month, while 14% make more than 30 orders per month. About 45% of respondents have reported spending 1-2 hours a day trading, while 14% have said to spend six hours or more trading.
Some 66% of traders use the daily charts whilst 48% use the one-hour charts. If we compare profitable and unprofitable traders, we can see that 72% of those who earn profit from Forex trading use daily charts. However, a big portion of unprofitable traders (62%) also use daily charts. A significant number of traders are willing to invest in learning materials for their trading sessions, with 53% of respondents reporting to have invested either in books, courses, or strategy testers in the last 12 months. That said, 47% of traders have not purchased any materials to help them in their trading endeavors in the last 12 months.
Profitable traders have been reported to be more experienced (5.4 years) than unprofitable traders (2.5 years). Another discrepancy between the two groups was noticed in the average number of trading strategies that have been tested. While those who have gained profits have tried out about three trading strategies, those who have not been successful have tested four trading strategies on average.
There are several reasons that can be pointed out as factors that may lead to an unprofitable Forex trading experience. The time dedicated to trading may be one of the reasons why traders fail to make profits. About 85% of investors who have dedicated more than four years to their trading are successful in generating profits. With the beginning of almost anyone’s trading journey bringing many losses due to lack of knowledge, 53% of traders stick to trading for less than a year. About 12% of traders who keep trading for one to three years have reported enjoying profits. That said, only 8% of traders choose to stay in trading for more than 4 years.
When it comes to the amount that Forex traders spend on their currency pair trades, it has been reported that most traders (63.75%) have limited their Forex trading expenses to less than 5% of their total budget. Some 13% of correspondents spend 5-15% of their income on Forex trading while 6.75% and 2.10% of traders reported spending 15-25% and 25-50% of their budgets on Forex trading, respectively. Very few traders (0.40%) go beyond half of their overall budget and 14% are not sure how much they spend on their Forex trades.
Budget Amount Traders Spend on Forex Trading
Source: www.dailyforex.com
Popular Online Forex Brokers Contributing to the Growth of the Forex Market
The global Forex broker market was estimated to be worth $5.2 trillion in 2023, with projections for 2032 predicting a market growth of 10.9%, reaching a market value of $13 trillion. Reporting dealers were the biggest contributors to the Forex broker market growth in 2023. Meanwhile, the highest trading volume was recorded on currency swaps.
In 2022, North America was the region that dominated the global Forex broker market, with factors like the increase in income and trading expectancies playing a major role in the region’s Forex broker advancements. In the upcoming years, the Asia-Pacific Forex broker market is also expected to gain significantly in market share, with more brokers expanding their reach to developing countries in the region.
While some markets have been seriously injured by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the online brokers sector saw a huge increase in activity, bringing the Forex market a significant surge in revenue. With expanded trading activity among millennials during the global pandemic, brokers like Robinhood gained bigger recognition and experienced a significant surge in platform user numbers.
If we compare the data between May 2017 and May 2021, we can see that Robinhood had a massive growth in the number of active traders, surging 2,570.3%, reaching 9.3 million users in May 2021.
Robinhood’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: Statista
Yet another trading service provider that experienced a significant boost of active monthly traders between May 2017 and May 2021 was eToro. Starting the period with about 69,000 monthly traders and gaining 2,436.4% up to 1.6 million monthly traders in May 2021.
eToro’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
Another Forex broker that saw a massive jump in monthly active traders after the global pandemic is WeBull. When comparing the data between May 2017 and May 2021, we can see that the broker experienced a growth of 747.52%, going from 341,070 traders per month to 3.1 million active monthly trading clients.
WeBull’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
Fidelity was another trading service company that finished the period between May 2017 and May 2021 with a significant number of active customers, with a total of almost 1.9 million monthly traders for May 2021. This marked a 346% growth compared to 415,000 active monthly traders recorded four years before that.
Fidelity’s Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
Interactive Brokers, which is currently one of the prominent names in the Forex sector, also had a significant growth of active traders in the years that followed the global pandemic. When comparing the stats for May 2017 and May 2021, we can see that the number of active monthly traders increased from about 45,000 to nearly 139,000. These numbers represent a 206% surge in the number of monthly traders using the trading services of Interactive Brokers.
Interactive Brokers’ Monthly Active Traders 2017 – 2021 (in 1000s)
Source: www.statista.com
With the massive size of the Forex market, it is no surprise that more online brokers are joining the scene, launching a wide range of financial services for their clients. That said, currently, there are a few brokers that are currently dominating the Forex market, contributing to the growth of the global Forex market.
- IG Group is a London-based fintech company that was established in 1974. Today, it caters to a wide range of investors, with Forex being one of the markets it covers. The company reported a FY2023 total revenue of £1.023 billion (~$1.3 billion), marking a 5.1% growth from the revenue reported for FY2022 (£973.1 million).
- The aforementioned eToro is another of the current top performers in the global Forex broker market. In addition to gaining quite the active traders growth in the last few years, the company has also established itself as one of the prominent participants in the global trading sector. The company reported a revenue of $630 million for FY2023, representing a very small decline from $631 million reported in FY2022. The total number of traders who have registered with eToro for 2023 amounted to 35.5 million and the company’s EBITDA for the year surpassed $100 million.
- Pepperstone is also one of the leaders in the global Forex scene, offering its customers a wide range of trading assets, including Forex pairs. Pepperstone Limited, which is the UK-regulated entity of the trading company, reported trading revenue of £13.9 million (~$17.86 million) for 2023, marking a 30% increase compared to £10.7 million (~$13.75 million) reported in 2022.
- StoneX, which is the parent company of major broker platforms Forex.com and City Index, has reported operating revenue for 2023 of $2,914.1 million, marking a 38.3% growth compared to $2107.4 million recorded in 2022. The two leading broker companies are among the main contributors to the revenue growth of StoneX.
- With a surge in active traders following the global pandemic, Interactive Brokers kept its top position in the global Forex market due to its competitive prices and a huge variety of assets to trade. The net revenue reported by the company in 2023 was $4.3 billion, which indicated a 38.7% year-over-year growth from the net revenue of $3.1 billion reported in 2022.
Using AI and Trading Tools for Forex Trades
Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in the development of the Forex industry. Traders can resort to a range of AI tools to evaluate markets, keep track of trends, and even perform orders. Some of the AI instruments you may utilize while trading currency pairs with any reputable Forex broker include Automated Trading, Backtesting, Expert Advisors, and more.
A large number of traders have adopted the AI model of trading, with data showing that 65% of traders think that machine learning and AI tools can significantly improve their trades.
Do Traders Approve the Use of AI in Trading?
Source: www.dailyforex.com
While there are different tools traders can resort to when they are initiating Forex orders, it seems like Trade Journals and Calculators are the tools that have been approved by anyone. Economic Calendars, Financial Newswire, and Time Zone Converters are also approved by a large portion of traders – 82%, 78%, and 74%, respectively.
Which Trading Tools Do Traders Prefer?
Source: www.dailyforex.com
With trading calculators being some of the most popular tools with Forex traders, the one calculating currency pips has been used the most (94% of respondents). Other calculators that are widely used by traders help them convert different currencies, calculate their potential profit, and calculate the volatility. With AI becoming an integral part of modern Forex trading, it comes as no surprise that 88% of profitable traders have reported using robots in their Forex trades.
| Additional Statistics Related to Forex Trading | |
|---|---|
| Forex Daily Trading Volume | |
| Japan Forex Trading Market | Most Traded Forex Currency Pairs |
| US Dollar Share of Global Currency Reserves | US Forex Trading Demographics |
| US Forex Trading Market | |
Conclusion
The Forex industry represents one of the biggest markets in the world, estimated to exceed the global GDP about 17 times. The daily Forex turnover for 2022 was estimated to be $7.6 trillion, marking a massive growth, with forecasts showing an even bigger increase in the upcoming years.
With a dynamic history, agreements between major economies, and significant technological advancements, the global Forex industry is a force to be reckoned with. While some sectors experienced a huge decline in revenue due to the global pandemic, COVID-19 had a positive impact on the Forex sector, with numerous online brokers experiencing a massive growth of active traders. This has led to further expansion of the already enormous Forex industry, with many fintech companies managing to keep the momentum and continue attracting more clients every year.
The demographic stats reveal that Forex continues to be a male-dominated industry, but more women are showing interest in currency trading, slowly increasing the percentage of females in this sector. Young adults are the larger portion of active Forex traders, with social media often being used by successful traders to stay updated about the latest Forex trends.
While geopolitical conflicts, uncertainty about interest rates, and other economic factors are responsible for the ongoing dynamics in the global Forex sector, predictions for the industry remain positive, with estimates for the period between 2023 and 2028 predicting growth of the market by $516.48 billion.