The UK snagged the largest share of the forex market as it generated 38.1% of the total daily average turnover. Forex swaps accounted for the largest share of all over-the-counter forex transactions, attracting 50.7% of the average daily turnover in 2022. With forex swaps, the parties involved in transactions agree to borrow one currency and lend another at the same time. Considering its undisputed status as a global currency, it is hardly shocking the USD was involved in 17 of the 20 forex pairs with the highest average daily turnover in April 2022. The US dollar was on one side of 88.5% of forex trades during this period, seeing a trifling increase of 0.2 percentage points from the same month three years earlier. Since CHF is turned to primarily during times of economic volatility or as a safe haven, it’s not as actively traded as the six preceding currency pairs on this list.

Turnover in the EUR/USD reached an impressive $1.71 trillion per day in April 2022, up 7.6% from the previous survey period when it stood at around $1.58 trillion. EUR/GBP (Euro/British Pound)The EUR/GBP pair represents the two largest economies in Europe. This currency pair is popular with traders who want to trade in the European market without exposure to the US dollar.9. EUR/JPY (Euro/Japanese Yen)The EUR/JPY pair is known for its volatility and large price fluctuations. This currency pair combines economic factors in the Eurozone and Japan, providing traders with the opportunity to profit from market fluctuations.10. GBP/JPY (British Pound/Japanese Yen)The GBP/JPY currency pair is known for its high volatility and large spread fluctuations.

What are the most traded forex pairs in the world?

The Canadian dollar (7th place in the top 20) and the Singaporean dollar (10th place) also witnessed noticeable increases from the previous survey period as their market shares rose by 0.6 pp and 1.2 pp, respectively. While securing the position of the 9th most traded currency, the Hong Kong dollar also suffered a considerable decline in global turnover, with its share falling by almost one whole percentage point in 2022. The Brazilian real and the Danish krone ranked as the two least traded currencies in the top 20, respectively participating in 0.9% and 0.7% of all trades in the global forex market. Projections suggest the market will see further growth despite the negative impact of sociopolitical factors like the ongoing armed conflicts occurring in recent years. The overall economic growth of a country significantly affects the currency exchange rate. Major pairs represent economies possessing growing import and export, well-established business-friendly infrastructure and policies, and a considerable forex trading volume.

This knowledge allows traders to capitalize on more predictable market movements, potentially leading to more profitable trading decisions. The US dollar dominates the forex market in terms of trading volume but this by no means makes it the world’s strongest currency where value is concerned. You will perhaps find it surprising but certain fiat currencies outshine the greenback in value.

The main forex currencies

• Often pegged to the dollar, such currencies are in high demand and have strong exchange rates relative to the dollar.
• With us, you can trade the USD/CNH currency pair – CNH being the offshore version of the yuan that is traded outside of mainland China.
• The world’s most liquid currency pair outpaced other leading majors with a 22.7% share of the average daily turnover of the forex market.

This upturn extended to USD/CAD whose share increased from 4.4% to 5.5% for a 1.1-pp growth. All information on The Forex Geek website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advice. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, do not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed.

How a Country is Attractive as an Investment Destination

Rely on us for historical and real-time forex data via diverse delivery methods. We provide forex data via API, WebSocket, FIX, MS Excel, CSV, and Google Sheets. Having traded since 1998, Justin is the CEO and Co-Founded CompareForexBrokers in 2004. Justin has published over 100 finance articles from Forbes, Kiplinger to Finance Magnates. He has a Masters and Commerce degree and has an active role in the fintech community.

Top 10 Countries with Highest Daily Average for Currency Trading (in bn USD)

• The daily turnover of the USD/TRY was not available in 2010, but in 2022 it had decreased from $64 billion in 2016 to $24 billion.
• The U.S. dollar against the Japanese yen ranks high, blending U.S. power with Japan’s safe-haven yen, moving with global risk moods over years.
• The Singaporean dollar and Hong Kong dollar lagged behind as they generated an average of $56 billion and $45 billion in turnover per day for 1.3% and 1.1% shares of the overall trading volume of spot forex transactions.
• However, USD/CHF still accounted for 3.9% of all daily forex transactions in the triennial survey, up from 3.4% in 2019.

This figure marks a 5% increase from 2019 when the country’s turnover stood at $3.58 trillion. The latest data published by the Bank of England reveals the UK recorded average daily forex turnover of $3.35 trillion in April 2024. While this marks a 14% increase from October 2023, it also corresponds to daily turnover decreases of 6.4% and 10.9% from 2019 and 2022, respectively. Turning our attention to individual forex majors, we see that the EUR/USD outperformed other key pairs both in terms of total daily averages and turnover from individual instruments. The most up-to-date statistics on the global forex market, including worldwide turnover, average daily turnover, the most commonly traded currency pairs, the largest brokers, and more. The ten most traded currencies recorded combined daily averages of $244 billion for currency swaps, $1.88 trillion for outright forwards, and $545 billion for options and other financial instruments.

In 2025 we have made a list of the most searched term for each country and the average search volume over 2025 to indicate the popularity of trading forex. In terms of age, forex traders are perhaps younger than you’d expect – 27% of forex traders fall into the age group. The age group represents 28% of traders, while the age group accounts for 21% of traders. The majority of people making forex trades – 3.2 million in total – live in Asia, followed by Europe and North America, which claim 1.5 million each. Central America has around 335,000 traders, while Oceania brings up the rear with 190,000.

This currency pair is attractive to experienced traders seeking significant trading opportunities.The combined trading volume of these 10 currency pairs constitutes the majority of activity in the Forex market. This streamlined selection simplifies trading significantly compared to equities, where thousands of options are available. Before selecting a currency pair to trade, traders should consider several factors.

Different types of forex pairs

We offer the highest number of forex pairs to trade in the industry, with over 300 currency pairs available on our platform, so the forex market may present opportunities for traders worldwide. Whether you are trading minor, exotic or the most traded currency pairs, there is a trading strategy to suit every personality and trading style in order to make the most of market liquidity. The top 5 most traded currency pairs matter because they are tied to global powerhouses, shaping exchange rates that affect your Forex trades or even international stocks over months or years. Now that we discussed the world’s leading currency pairs, we shall examine how different currencies measure against each other in terms of foreign exchange reserves. Forex reserves consist of foreign currencies and other financial assets like gold owned by central banks and national monetary authorities.

Practise trading risk-free with virtual funds on our Next Generation platform. Offshore regulators are generally less stringent than the stricter, top-tier regulators, yet the regulatory environments can vary most traded currency pairs 2020 significantly between different countries. At CompareForexBrokers, we recommend trading exclusively through a fully licensed and regulated brokerage in your jurisdiction. There are different tiers of regulatory bodies depending on the framework enforced. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) remains the most popular platform by the number of users according to data from the MetaQuotes website (the company behind the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms).